Abstract
Rational regulations of transgenic products should compare their risks and benefits with the risks and benefits of alternatives. The current regulations ignore the alternatives. Political-economic considerations govern the establishment of regulatory requirements and tend to lead to overregulation. Optimal testing should balance the gains and costs of ex ante testing and ex post monitoring. Emphasis on ex ante testing to control bad products may lead to welfare losses. The ex ante testing of new transgenic products should occur mostly at the trait level. Registration requirements at the varietal level, and even the crop level, may be very costly.
The research leading to this paper was partially supported by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s STAR Grant No. 829612.
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Zilberman, D. (2006). The Economics of Biotechnology Regulation. In: Just, R.E., Alston, J.M., Zilberman, D. (eds) Regulating Agricultural Biotechnology: Economics and Policy. Natural Resource Management and Policy, vol 30. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36953-2_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36953-2_12
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