University Life Science Programs and Agricultural Biotechnology

We examine sources of productivity in bioscience research and graduate training in U.S. universities. For this purpose, we first identify the scientific publications cited on agricultural biotechnology patents, and then trace the citations back to the universities producing the cited research. Insight is thus gained into the university investments that demonstrably influence useful technology. Life-science budget allocations substantially affect both graduate education and technology-relevant science. Graduate training shows decreasing returns to budget scale, while productive research shows decreasing returns in the short run but increasing returns in the long run. Training is a weak substitute for research, while research is a moderate complement to training.     

现代农业生物技术研发的政策取向

本文分析了解释不同类型国家选择不同农业生物技术，尤其是转基因技术发展政策的背景和原因。分析结果表明，农业转基因技术的发展政策和争论已远远超过了其技术本身的内容和技术的安全性问题，国家农业转基因技术发展政策的取向是各个国家经济所处的发展阶段，农产品贸易地位，国家生物技术的技术依赖度，公众对生物技术产品的接受程度和风险等多种因素共同作用的结果。这些结论对我国政府制定目前和未来的农业生物技术发展政策有一定的启示和参考价值。     

Reaping What We Sow: Emerging Issues and Policy Implications of Agricultural Biotechnology

This essay assesses the U.S. government's role in managing rapid biotechnological change in agriculture. Many scientists hail recent agricultural biotechnology developments as steps toward solving the health, nutrition, and environmental problems that have plagued the world for decades. At the same time, some fear these biotechnological advances will leave a legacy of environmental threats, health problems, and ethical dilemmas for future generations. The impacts of these technologies on economies and the environment are unpredictable and government's role in regulating GM (genetically modified) technologies will need to be different than its functions in traditional agricultural policy. In this article, we consider current federal regulation of GM products, consumers' apprehensions about GM food, possible market failures due to agricultural biotechnology, and the policy significance of scientific uncertainty. We then suggest policy approaches that can address concerns about biotechnology and ensure that the potentially widespread public benefits from GM crop production are not ignored.     

Agricultural Biotechnology: A Comparison of Consumers' Preferences for Selected Policy Options

This paper reports on a study of consumers' preferences for regulatory policies that relate to food biotechnology. Data on consumers' choices of selected policy options were collected through a telephone survey of Alberta residents conducted in early 2000. Conditional and mixed logit models were developed and tested. These assess the influence of different socio-economic factors on respondents' choices of particular policy options and are used to estimate respondents' willingness to pay for two policy options that were the major focus of the study, specifically:

• •

  a food labeling system that gives more information about agricultural biotechnology for

       
  
  

现代农业生物技术创新管理与中国农业竞争力

现代农业生物技术创新,风险与利益并存,潜在社会经济影响显著。在复杂的国际经济法律环境中,世界各国加强立法,趋利避,害既反映了消费者主权和生态环境保护的要求,又体现着各国在生物高科技和农业竞争力方面的较量。在此背景下,中国应根据农产品贸易格和发展生物科技的优劣势条件,调整发展战略,实施立法管理。     

Bundling and Licensing of Genes in Agricultural Biotechnology

We examine the strategic incentive for gene holders to vertically integrate with seed companies and chemical input companies. With homogeneous conventional seeds, we find that a pure bundling strategy (produce the genetically modified seed only) is dominant. When the gene holder and breeder are, respectively, the monopolistic producers of genetically modified and conventional seeds, they may commit to mixed bundling (supply both genetically modified and conventional seed) to deter potential entry to the conventional seed market. A vertical merger may solve the credibility issue of the mixed bundling commitment through third party licensing agreements in the conventional seed market.     

The Rate of Progress in Agricultural Biotechnology

The average quality of agricultural biotechnology patents appears to have declined substantially during the past two decades. This quality deterioration may reflect either a decline in the significance of new inventions or an increased use of patents as "protective thickets" against competitors' challenges to more important discoveries. Either way, patent proliferation may be boosting the transaction costs in intellectual property markets, imperiling intellectual exchange and hence technical progress.     

A Metamodeling Approach to Evaluate Agricultural Policy Impact on Soil Degradation in Western Canada

A novel approach for integrating economic and environmental models is described in the context of evaluating soil degradation impacts of agricultural policy in western Canada. The key element of this approach is the development of metamodels, which are statistical summary functions of simulation data obtained from carefully designed experiments with physical process models. The metamodels are in turn used to predict the soil degradation impacts of farmers'land management responses to policy options. The metamodels provide flexibility to perform repeated policy scenarios without having to rerun the time-and resource-consuming physical process simulation models. The estimated wind and water erosion metamodels are very robust, with the majority possessing R-square values in the range of 0·80 to 0·97. The efficiency of the metamodels in facilitating the integration of a policy modeling system is described and applied to a scenario of increased crop residue management. Using regional aggregates of net farm income, total economic, surplus (consumer plus producer surplus) and total soil loss the economic and environmental tradeoff between the status quo and a no-till policy scenario is evaluated. The model-predicted economic welfare and environmental quality interaction suggests a clear win-win situation for society under this alternative policy scenario.     

Strategic Behavior and Consolidation in the Agricultural Biotechnology Industry

We develop a model explaining the consolidation patterns in the agricultural biotechnology industry. Among different consolidation and cooperation mechanisms, we consider collaborative and licensing agreements, joint ventures, acquisitions, and exchanges of ownership and spin-offs. The key results derive from the benefits of coordinated actions, distinction between transferable and nontransferable payoffs, the substitutability, complementarity, and the importance of the managers' noncontractible investments, and access and expansion of markets. Results from the model are used to examine the cooperation and consolidation activities for four major players in the agricultural biotechnology industry, DuPont , Dow Chemical , Monsanto , and Novartis .     

Interdisciplinary Agricultural Research in Canada

The activities and accomplishments of agricultural economists conducting interdisciplinary research in association with other agricultural scientists in Canada are reviewed and evaluated. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada instituted an interdisciplinary research program with the placement of agricultural economists at Research Centres in the early 1970s. University- and government-employed agricultural economists have produced a large number of important studies for the benefit of the agricultural industry in Canada. However, less than 3% of the articles published in this journal since its inception in 1952 report on interdisciplinary research. Interdisciplinary research in agriculture has been hampered by organizational weaknesses and inherent difficulties associated with conducting this type of research.     

Agricultural Credit Subsidies and Farmland Values in Canada

The objective of this study is to determine the impact of farm credit subsidies on the value of farmland in Canada. The price-components model based on the capitalization principle is developed and estimated using the pooled data from four selected provinces (Quebec, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Saskatchewan) from 1972 to 1991. The results show that increases (decreases) in interest subsidies are expected to increase (decrease) farmland and building values. However, the short-term impact is estimated to be small. The regional analysis shows that the abolition of interest subsidies across the country is likely to have a relatively higher impact on land and building values in Quebec than in the prairie provinces.     

Institutional Arrangements and Public Agricultural Research in Canada

Over the last three decades, public investment in agricultural research and development has made an invaluable contribution to the economic and social well-being of Canadian society. However, in the 1990s, public research agencies were reorganized due to budgetary considerations and changes in research agendas. It is evident that since then, private sector contributions have increased and novel ways of funding research and providing financial incentives have been developed. We present quantitative data to show how research expenditure patterns have evolved in response to institutional and organizational changes in research policy. Data are also presented to show how the federal Department of Agriculture has benefitted from inventive activity. Implications of recent changes in research policy for new funding and financing arrangements are also discussed.     

加拿大农业保险的经历和经验

加拿大从上个世纪初就有商业性保险公司试验经营农作物保险,但最后都失败了。后来,政府组织了准政策性农业保险,并在多年经验积累的基础上,于1960年开始举办政策性农业保险。46年来,加拿大特别是其曼尼托巴省的政策性农业保险取得了巨大成功,创造了丰富的经验,解决了一系列举办政策性农业保险所遇到的重要问题:根据实际情况确定由谁来经营政策性农业保险;如何合理确定必不可少的政府补贴和适当的保障水平;一下子铺开还是从少数几种农作物开始试验;到底是实行强制保险还是自愿保险更为合理和有效,要不要使具有不同风险损失概率的农户支付相同的保险费率;要不要组织省际之间的风险共担,是否需要对农民进行农业保险的培训;等等。