Staff Biographical Page: Mark Prell

Briefly

Mark Prell is Branch Chief of the Food Assistance Branch in ERS’s Food Economics Division. He is responsible for planning, directing, and managing the Branch’s program of research, analysis, and information dissemination. The work of the branch focuses on USDA’s domestic food and nutrition assistance programs and issues related to them. Three long-term research themes are dietary and nutritional outcomes, food program targeting and delivery, and program dynamics and administration. The work of the Food Assistance Branch contributes to ERS’s Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program.

Background

Mark served as an Assistant Deputy Director at ERS from 1999 to 2003. Prior to joining ERS, Mark was Chair of the Economics Department at Hampden-Sydney College. He conducted research for the Commonwealth of Virginia on economic and programmatic factors explaining changes in the state’s welfare caseload. For five years, Mark was co-owner and manager of Global Awards, Inc., a family-owned company that provided regalia for college graduations depicting the national colors and symbols of each country. He has also taught economics courses at the University of California—Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, and California State University—Northridge.

Education

Mark received a Ph.D. in economics from M.I.T. and a B.A. in economics and government (double-major) from the College of William and Mary.

Professional Affiliations

Mark is a member of the American Economics Association.

Publications

See all ERS publications by this author >

While Mark’s areas of interest span the range of food assistance programs and issues, he considers his most profound contributions to be research on WIC, the infant formula rebate program, and infant formula retail prices. The ERS publication Infant Formula Prices and Availability: A Final Report to Congress is one outcome of this work.