Hull is interested in interdisciplinary approaches to the study of household well-being, particularly in smallholder frontier contexts.

In this new project, VanWey joins Brown Geosciences Professor John Mustard in leading a team of researchers studying agricultural development in Brazil.  The project focuses on the agricultural frontier of Mato Grosso, where there are not only rapid and large-scale land transformations (ex from natural land cover to agriculture, and from pasture to crop), but also the most rapid population growth in the country, the highest human development index in the country, and dramatic economic growth.