John Kandulu

Research Interests

Agricultural Economics Agricultural Economics & Policy Applied Economics Development Studies Ecological Economics Econometrics Economic Development Policy Economics Environment Policy

Dr John Kandulu

Environment Institute

College of Science

Born in Malawi, John has over 15 years of work experience as an applied economist in education, not-for-profit and government sectors focusing on natural resource management policy design and evaluation. He has contributed to projects addressing aid for development programs, policy-, program- and project impact evaluation, food and water security, biosecurity, renewable energy policy, outreach services and water quality management. John applies various analytical techniques to inform policy- and investment decisions, including evaluating the effectiveness of new policy-, program- and project options, and the expected net return on prospective investment options. He is familiar with various analytical techniques and software, including cost benefit analysis, spatial data analysis, econometric analysis, investment risk analysis, optimisation and data visualisation. John’s current research area of interest is design and evaluation of effective diversity and inclusion policies to inform inclusive natural resource management.

Date Position Institution name
2022 - ongoing Senior Research Economist University of Adelaide
2020 - 2022 Senior Research Economist BDO EconSearch
2007 - 2018 Research Analyst Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Canberra
2005 - 2008 Associate Lecturer (Level A) University of Adelaide, Adelaide
2005 - 2007 Research Analyst Primary Industries and Resources South Australia, Adelaide

Language Competency
Chichewa; Chewa; Nyanja Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
Shona Can read, write, speak and understand spoken

Date Institution name Country Title
2015 - 2022 University of Adelaide Australia PhD
2005 - 2008 University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia MA Econ
2003 - 2005 University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia B Econ

Year Citation
2026 Kandulu, J., Soebarto, V., Caddy-Retalic, S., Lowe, A., Kumar, P., Tefera, Y., & Williams, C. (2026). Advancing context-sensitive valuation of street tree benefits in contrasting urban socioeconomic settings. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 122, 129516-1-129516-12.
DOI
2026 Kumar, P., Corada Perez, K., Biswal, A., Sun, H., Dwivedi, A. K., Hama, S., . . . Yao, R. (2026). Overlooked considerations in prescribing green and blue infrastructure solutions for urban environments. The Innovation, 7(5), 101184-1-101184-36.
DOI Scopus8
2026 Williams, C., Tefera, Y., Soebarto, V., Kandulu, J., Lowe, M., Humphrey, J., . . . Willsmore, B. (2026). From Policy to Action: Co-Designing Research With Local Government to Advance Urban Greening. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 37(2), e70164-1-e70164-11.
DOI
2026 Pichler, E., Kandulu, J. M., Connell, S. D., & McAfee, D. (2026). Valuing the contributions of conservation volunteers to coastal society. Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology, e70276-1-e70276-`14.
DOI
2025 J., K. (2025). Carbon pricing: Approaches, lessons and recommendations for blue carbon in Vietnam.
DOI
2025 Kandulu, J. M., Wheeler, S. A., Zuo, A., & Connor, J. D. (2025). Mobile Technology and Gender: A Pathway to Increased Yield and Farm Profit for Smallholder Farmers in Bangladesh. The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 69(3), 674-686.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2024 Kandulu, J. M., Wheeler, S., & Kingsford, R. (2024). Dams, dams and more dams: issues in evaluating business cases for dam expansion in Australia. Environmental Research Communications, 6(10), 12 pages.
DOI Scopus4 WoS3
2024 Kandulu, J. M., Zuo, A., Wheeler, S., Dusingizimana, T., & Chagunda, M. G. G. (2024). Influence of climate-smart technologies on the success of livestock donation programs for smallholder farmers in Rwanda. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 29(3), 24-1-24-27.
DOI Scopus6 WoS6
2023 Tefera, Y., Soebarto, V., Bishop, C., Kandulu, J., & Williams, C. (2023). A Scoping Review of Urban Planning Decision Support Tools and Processes That Account for the Health, Environment, and Economic Benefits of Trees and Greenspace. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(1), 48-1-48-29.
DOI Scopus13 Europe PMC1
2021 Wheeler, S. A., Zuo, Z., & Kandulu, J. (2021). What water are we really pumping? The nature and extent of surface and groundwater substitutability in Australia and implications for water management policies. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 43(4), 1550-1570.
DOI Scopus13 WoS13
2020 Tam, M., Capon, T., Whitten, S., Tapsuwan, S., Kandulu, J., & Measham, P. (2020). Assessing the economic benefit of area wide management and the sterile insect technique for the Queensland fruit fly in pest-free vs. endemic regions of South-east Australia. International Journal of Pest Management, 69(`1), 1-17.
DOI Scopus4 WoS3
2020 Tapsuwan, S., Capon, T., Tam, M., Kandulu, J., Measham, P., & Whitten, S. (2020). Willingness to pay for area-wide management and sterile insect technique to control fruit flies in Australia. International Journal of Pest Management, 66(4), 351-367.
DOI Scopus6 WoS5
2020 Kandulu, J., Wheeler, S., Zuo, A., & Sim, N. (2020). The impact of microcredit loans on school enrolment in Bangladesh. Journal of Development Studies, 56(9), 1725-1744.
DOI Scopus12 WoS9
2019 Dandy, G. C., Marchi, A., Maier, H. R., Kandulu, J., MacDonald, D. H., & Ganji, A. (2019). An integrated framework for selecting and evaluating the performance of stormwater harvesting options to supplement existing water supply systems. Environmental Modelling and Software, 122, 13 pages.
DOI Scopus23 WoS20
2018 Kandulu, J., Thorburn, P., Biggs, J., & Verburg, K. (2018). Estimating economic and environmental trade-offs of managing nitrogen in Australian sugarcane systems taking agronomic risk into account. Journal of Environmental Management, 223, 264-274.
DOI Scopus20 WoS18 Europe PMC8
2017 Kandulu, J., Hatton MacDonald, D., Dandy, G., & Marchi, A. (2017). Ecosystem service impacts of urban water supply and demand management. Water Resources Management, 31(15), 4785-4799.
DOI Scopus9 WoS7
2017 Kandulu, J. M., & Connor, J. D. (2017). Improving the effectiveness of aid: an evaluation of prospective Mekong irrigation investments. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 33(2), 270-291.
DOI Scopus13 WoS11
2015 Bryan, B. A., Huai, J., Connor, J., Gao, L., King, D., Kandulu, J., & Zhao, G. (2015). What actually confers adaptive capacity? Insights from agro-climatic vulnerability of Australian wheat. PLoS one, 10(2), 1-20.
DOI Scopus33 WoS34 Europe PMC9
2014 Connor, J. D., Kandulu, J. M., & Bark, R. H. (2014). Irrigation revenue loss in Murray-Darling Basin drought: an econometric assessment. Agricultural water management, 145, 163-170.
DOI Scopus16 WoS13
2014 Kandulu, J. M., Connor, J. D., & MacDonald, D. H. (2014). Ecosystem services in urban water investment. Journal of environmental management, 145, 43-53.
DOI Scopus33 WoS26 Europe PMC5
2013 Bark, R. H., Peeters, L. J. M., Lester, R. E., Pollino, C. A., Crossman, N. D., & Kandulu, J. M. (2013). Understanding the sources of uncertainty to reduce the risks of undesirable outcomes in large-scale freshwater ecosystem restoration projects: An example from the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Environmental Science and Policy, 33, 97-108.
DOI Scopus21 WoS19
2013 Kandulu, J. (2013). Are we risking too much? Estimating the risk-mitigating benefit of urban water supply augmentation options. Water Science and Technology Water Supply, 13(2), 531-540.
DOI Scopus4 WoS2
2013 Kandulu, J. M. (2013). Quantifying the extent to which enterprise mix diversification can mitigate economic risk in rainfed agriculture. AUSTRALASIAN AGRIBUSINESS REVIEW, 21, 14 pages.
2012 Kandulu, J. M., Bryan, B. A., King, D., & Connor, J. D. (2012). Mitigating economic risk from climate variability in rain-fed agriculture through enterprise mix diversification. Ecological economics, 79, 105-112.
DOI Scopus56 WoS50
2011 Bryan, B. A., & Kandulu, J. M. (2011). Designing a Policy Mix and Sequence for Mitigating Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution in a Water Supply Catchment. Water Resources Management, 25(3), 875-892.
DOI Scopus63 WoS52
2009 Bryan, B. A., & Kandulu, J. M. (2009). Cost-effective alternatives for mitigating Cryptosporidium risk in drinking water and enhancing ecosystem services. Water Resources Research, 45(8), 13 pages.
DOI Scopus29 WoS22
2009 Bryan, B. A., Kandulu, J., Deere, D. A., White, M., Frizenschaf, J., & Crossman, N. D. (2009). Adaptive management for mitigating Cryptosporidium risk in source water: A case study in an agricultural catchment in South Australia. Journal of Environmental Management, 90(10), 3122-3134.
DOI Scopus31 WoS27 Europe PMC13

Year Citation
2026 Williams, C., Tefera, Y., Kandulu, J., Lowe, M., Croeser, T., Humphrey, J., & Soebarto, V. (2026). Tackling the Challenges in Greening Our Cities for Health and Wellbeing. In Urban Sustainability (Vol. Part F1614, pp. 37-64). Springer Nature Singapore.
DOI

Year Citation
2019 Parry, H., Capon, T., Clarke, A., Crisp, P., Hulthen, A., Kandulu, J., . . . Williams, D. (2019). Area-wide management guidelines for Sterile Insect Technique developed through interdisciplinary modelling research. In 23rd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation - Supporting Evidence-Based Decision Making: The Role of Modelling and Simulation, MODSIM 2019 (pp. 652-657). online: QUT.
DOI Scopus2
2017 Kandulu, J., Thorburn, P., Biggs, J., & Verburg, K. (2017). Estimating economic impacts of controlled release fertilisers in sugarcane systems: An economic risk case study analysis. In 39th Conference of the Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, ASSCT 2017 (pp. 251-262). online: ASSCT.
Scopus7
- Understanding hydrological processes at a remote mountainous continuous permafrost watershed in a changing environment (2019). In El Sawah, S. (ed.) MODSIM2019, 23rd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation.. Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand.
DOI

Year Citation
2024 Li, Y., Yu, J., Gai, K., Liu, B., Xiong, G., & Wu, Q. (2024). T2VIndexer: A Generative Video Indexer for Efficient Text-Video Retrieval.
DOI Scopus6
2023 Kandulu, J., & Soebarto, V. (2023). Estimating the net benefit of street trees in Greater Adelaide Metropolitan, Australia. University of Adelaide Environment Institute.
DOI
2023 Hancock, J., Abdul Halim, S., Kandulu, J., Masson, V., & Wagner, L. (2023). Understanding the implications of a Renewable Gas Target for Australia’s gas networks. https://www.futurefuelscrc.com/publications/.
2022 Wheeler, S. A., Seidl, C., Tingey-Holyoak, J., Zuo, Z., Xu, Y., & Kandulu, J. (2022). The economics and financial benchmarking of Riverland Grape production, and potential benefits of Vitivisor technology (Sep 2022). Australia: School of Economics and Public Policy, University of Adelaide.
2021 Kandulu, J., Bailey, H., & Magnusson, A. (2021). Economic contribution of recreational fishing by Queenslanders to Queensland.
2021 Crase, L., Kishore, A., Jahangir, A., Cooper, B., Connor, J., & Kandulu, J. (2021). Institutions to support intensification, integrated decision making and inclusiveness in agriculture in the East Gangetic Plain.
2013 Dandy, G., Ganji, A., Kandulu, J., Hatton MacDonald, D., Marchi, A., Maier, H., . . . Schmidt, C. E. (2013). Managed Aquifer Recharge and Stormwater Use Options: Net Benefits Report (Technical Report Series No. 14 / 1). Goyder Institute for Water Research.
2011 Connor, J., Banerjee, O., Kandulu, J., Bark, R. H., & King, D. (2011). Socioeconomic implications of the guide to the proposed basin plan: methods and results overview. Australia: CSIRO.
DOI

Year Citation
2022 Kandulu, J. (2022). Improving the social welfare of rural households in South Asia and Africa through effective rural development interventions. (PhD Thesis, University of Adelaide).

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