Abstract
Public investment in agricultural research is an important source of productivity growth. However, there is underinvestment in research in both poor and rich countries. This chapter uses political economy analysis to explain why there is underinvestment in both rich and poor countries if these investments have such high social rates of returns.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
For a more complex model, with more inputs on consumer and producer effects, see Alston (2018).
- 2.
To measure the net welfare effect, one has to take into account the tax costs to finance PARI.
References
Alston, J.M. 2018. Reflections on Agricultural R&D, Productivity, and the Data Constraint: Unfinished Business, Unsettled Issues. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 100 (2), 392–413.
Alston, J.M., M.A. Andersen, J.S. James, and P.G. Pardey. 2009. Persistence Pays: US Agricultural Productivity Growth and the Benefits from Public R&D Spending (Vol. 34). New York: Springer Science & Business Media.
Baland, J.M., and A. Kotwal. 1998. The Political Economy of Underinvestment in Agriculture. Journal of Development Economics 55 (1): 233–247.
Binswanger, H., Y. Mundlak, M. Yang, and A. Bowers. 1985. Estimation of Aggregate Agricultural Supply Response. Washington, DC: World Bank Mimeo.
Cochrane, W.W. 1965. Some Observations of an Ex Economic Advisor: Or What I Learned in Washington. Journal of Farm Economics 47 (2): 447–461.
Cornes, R., C.F. Mason, and T. Sandler. 1986. The Commons and the Optimal Number of Firms. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 101 (3): 641–646.
de Gorter, H., and J. Swinnen. 1998. The Impact of Economic Development on Public Research and Commodity Policies in Agriculture. Review of Development Economics 2 (1): 41–60.
de Gorter, H., and D. Zilberman. 1990. On the Political Economy of Public Good inputs in Agriculture. The American Journal of Agricultural Economics 72: 131–137.
de Gorter, H., D.J. Nielson, and G.C. Rausser. 1992. Productive and Predatory Public Policies. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 74: 27–37.
Gardner, B.L. 1983. Efficient Redistribution Through Commodity Markets. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 65 (2): 225–234.
———. 1989. Price Supports and Optimal Spending on Agricultural Research. Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Working Paper 88-01, University of Maryland.
Gardner, B. 2002. US Commodity Policies and Land Prices. Government Policy and Farmland Markets. Washington DC: USDA-ERS, University of Maryland.
Huffman, W.E., and R.E. Evenson. 1992. Contributions of Public and Private Science and Technology to U.S. Agricultural Productivity. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 74: 751–756.
Huffman, W.E., and J.A. Miranowski. 1981. An Economic Analysis of Expenditures on Agricultural Experiment Station Research. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 63 (1): 104–118.
Khanna, J., W.E. Huffman, and T. Sandler. 1994. Agricultural Research Expenditures in the United States: A Public Goods Perspective. The Review of Economics and Statistics 76 (2): 267–277.
Oehmke, J.F., and X. Yao. 1990. A Policy Preference Function for Government Intervention in the US Wheat Market. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 72 (3): 631–640.
Pardey, P.G., and V.H. Smith. 2017. Waste Not, Want Not: Transactional Politics, Research and Development Funding, and the US Farm Bill. Report. American Enterprise Institute.
Pardey, P.G., C. Chan-Kang, S.P. Dehmer, and J.M. Beddow. 2016. Agricultural R&D is on the Move. Nature 537: 301–303.
Rausser, G.C. 1982. Political Economic Markets: PERTs and PESTs in Food and Agriculture. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 64 (5): 821–833.
———. 1992. Predatory Versus Productive Government: The Case of U.S. Agricultural Policies. The Journal of Economic Perspectives 6: 133–158.
Rausser, G.C., and W.E. Foster. 1992. Political Preference Functions and Public Policy Reform: Reply. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 74 (1): 227–230.
Rose-Ackerman, S., and R. Evenson. 1985. The Political Economy of Agricultural Research and Extension: Grants, Votes, and Reapportionment. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 67 (1): 1–14.
Ruttan, V.W. 1982. Agricultural Research Policy. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Schultz, T.W. 1953. The Economic Organization of Agriculture. New York: McGraw Hill.
Swinnen, J.F.M., H. de Gorter, G.C. Rausser, and A. Banerjee. 2000. The Political Economy of Public Research Investment and Commodity Policies in Agriculture: An Empirical Study. Agricultural Economics 22 (2): 111–122.
Ulrich, A., H. Furtan, and A. Schmitz. 1986. Public and Private Returns from Joint Venture Research: An Example from Agriculture. Quarterly Journal of Economics 101 (1): 103–130.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Swinnen, J. (2018). Public Investments in Agricultural and Food Research. In: The Political Economy of Agricultural and Food Policies. Palgrave Studies in Agricultural Economics and Food Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-50102-8_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-50102-8_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-50101-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-50102-8
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)