Beatrice Lorge Rogers

Biography 

Dr. Beatrice Lorge Rogers is a Professor of Economics and Food Policy whose work addresses the economic, political, and social science dimensions of global nutrition challenges. An internationally recognized expert in the economic determinants of food security and the design of effective food assistance programs, she has led multi‑country research across Latin America, South Asia, and sub‑Saharan Africa, examining how food aid and development interventions can achieve long‑term sustainability without creating dependency. Her research spans household food consumption, price policy, and the cost‑effectiveness of supplementary foods for preventing and treating moderate acute malnutrition in children, as well as methodological innovations in assessing dietary adequacy and intra‑household resource allocation. She is also a leader in developing interdisciplinary graduate training for global nutrition and food policy professionals.

Dr. Rogers received the Friedman School’s Distinguished Faculty Award in 2008 and the Dannon Mentorship Award from the American Society for Nutrition in 2014, both honoring her mentorship of doctoral students. She is a Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition and received the ASN Kellogg Prize for International Nutrition Research in 2017.

Education

• Ph.D., 1978, Economic and Public Health Policy, Florence Heller School for Advanced Studies in Social Welfare Policy, Brandeis University
• B.A., 1968, Experimental Psychology, Radcliffe College, Harvard University

Specializations

Food Policy, Programs, and Economics; Community Interventions and Behavior Change; Nutrition Equity

Research Activities

Current Research:

• PI of an assessment of the long-term sustainability of food assistance program activities, outcomes, and impacts in Burkina Faso, building on a USAID-funded development intervention that ended in 2018. Field work was conducted through 2024; analysis is ongoing.

Past Research:

• PI of three field studies assessing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative supplementary foods for the prevention and treatment of moderate acute malnutrition in young children, and the household behaviors affecting their use – a study conducted in Malawi, Burkina Faso, and Sierra Leone in conjunction with health programs delivering health education and food supplements. This research is part of a larger project, the Food Aid Quality Review (serving as co-PI) reviewing the quality, micronutrient content, and systems of procurement and delivery of fortified, enriched, and blended foods provided through US food assistance under US PL480 Title II, and promoting harmonization among major food aid donors. Visit FAQR
• Co-PI of the INDDEX project, developing improved methods for assessing individual food consumption through national and sub-national surveys, and enhancing the use of dietary data for program and policy decisions in low-income countries. Visit INDDEX
• PI of a multi-year study of the effectiveness of exit strategies and determinants of sustainability of the benefits of US food assistance programs – a four-country study to assess how food assistance programs under US PL480 Title II can assure the sustainability of their impacts after the programs themselves shut down. Study conducted in Bolivia, Honduras, India, and (by co-PI) Kenya. Summary Report
• Determinants of intrahousehold resource allocation; effect of female household headship on household food consumption and child nutritional status (Dominican Republic); impact of price policy on household food consumption and dietary quality and adequacy (Mali, Dominican Republic); design and effects of consumer food price subsidies (Pakistan); best uses of Title II food in MCH programs (Peru, Bolivia); effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of food versus cash in school feeding and MCH programs (Honduras). Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of supplementary foods in the treatment of HIV+ adults (Ethiopia). Application of Small Area Estimation to development of malnutrition maps in
• Latin America (Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Panama). Survey research on the education and career paths of graduates of international nutrition policy graduate programs in the US.