Ricky Volpe

Associate Professor | Biological Sciences Department

Areas of Expertise

Agricultural Economics

Consumer Purchasing Decisions

Food Pricing

Food/Retail Supply Chain

Contact Information

805.756.5030

Email

Website

Biography

Ricky Volpe was born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts. After finishing his Ph.D., he spent four years working as an economist at the USDA Economic Research Service in Washington DC. While there he researched a variety of topics, including food price formation, competitiveness in the food industry, and the healthiness of grocery purchases in the U.S. Volpe was also responsible for forecasting retail food price inflation at the national level.

Now at Cal Poly, Volpe teaches courses on food retail and supply chain management, transportation and logistics, and data analysis. He also works closely with industry leaders in food retailing, wholesaling, and distribution to facilitate collaboration on public-private partnerships, student internships, and scholarships.

Education

• Ph.D., University of California Davis, Agricultural and Resource Economics
• M.S., University of Massachusetts, Resource Economics 
• B.S., University of Massachusetts, Mathematics and Economics 

Research Interests

• Market structure
• Firm performance 
• Food prices
• Consumers’ food choices
• Health outcomes