I am a professor and ARC Future Fellow in the College of Business, Government and Law (CBGL), Flinders University. I am affiliated with the Centre for Social Impact and the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training at Flinders University. I am also a member of the Water, Environment and Food economics policy group in CBGL.

I am an applied economist specialising in agricultural, environmental, and resource economics. My research has addressed issues and questions that are fundamental to UN Sustainable Development Goals and Australian National Research Priorities.

• Agricultural Economics
• Climate change adaptation and mitigation
• Drought impacts
• Environmental and Resource Economics
• Water Markets

My research has contributed significantly to understanding the impact of climate change and resources on irrigation farming, farmer adaptation strategies, and market-based instruments for water resource management. My research has been published in leading international journals (e.g., Global Environment Change, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, European Review of Agricultural Economics, Energy Economics, etc.) and I have collaborated with researchers from over 20 organisations worldwide on agricultural, resource, environment and development issues across 11 countries in four continents. I have substantial experience in initiating and managing large research projects, funded by the Australian Research Council (currently an ARC Future Fellow), the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, the Australian Consumer & Competition Commission, and the Murray Darling Basin Authority.

My funding highlights include an ARC Future Fellowship (2023-2027) to quantify the economic and social impacts of drought in rural Australia, and a GRDC grant (2023-2027) to investigate sustainable farming strategies in southern Australia. Other key projects include an ARC Discovery (2022-2025) on water market reforms, a Federal Department of Agriculture project (2020-2023) evaluating agricultural export channels to China, and numerous ACIAR initiatives, enhancing smallholder incomes and agricultural systems in Vietnam, Africa, and the Indo-Gangetic Plains.

Alec is a member of the newly-formed Water, Environment and Food economics policy group (WEF) in College of Business, Government and Law (BGL) at Flinders University.

The team is comprised of eight distinguished environment and resource economists including award-winning Professor Sarah Wheeler, Professor Neville Crossman, and ARC Future Fellow Professor Alec Zuo, along with two PhD students. Their research aims to enhance the management and allocation of water in the Murray-Darling Basin, evaluate the impacts of water scarcity on regional and farming communities, develop water markets, promote sustainable farming practices, and assess the effects of drought and flooding.

Collaborating with industry and regional stakeholders and led by Professor Wheeler, the team aims to develop policies that tackle Australia's water challenges and the effects of climate change, with a strong commitment to real-world solutions and informing best practices for sustainable water management.

See Flinders News for more information.