Science Policy and Agricultural Biotechnology in Canada

This paper examines Canadian science and technology (S&T) policies in the 1990s and the growth of the agriculture biotechnology sector. Drawing from several different data sources, we show that advances in biotechnology have made a substantive contribution to the agri-food landscape as evident by the growth in biotechnology companies, as well as the number of approved genetically modified field trials and canola biotechnology patents issued to inventors. We also show that Canadian inventors do not appear to have harvested a substantive number of enabling canola biotechnology patents as compared to U.S. and European inventors.     

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。     

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:

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

       
  
  

Effectiveness of Rural Microfinance: What We Know and What We Need to Know

The effectiveness of rural microfinance in improving livelihoods among people living in rural communities remains uncertain. This is not only because of weaknesses in the design and implementation of microfinance, but perhaps more critically because of constraints in the rural financial environment. Despite the existence of limited rigorous studies, this paper presents state‐of‐the‐art evidence on the impact of microfinance on beneficiaries, with particular emphasis on issues of rural finance, and argues that for microfinance to be more effective, not only do new impact methodologies and more diverse types of financial services need to be developed, but also, primarily, risks and operating costs need to be reduced to make rural clients more attractive to financial intermediaries.     

Multiple Discourses on Crisis: Farm, Agricultural, and Rural Policy Implications

The terms farm crisis, agricultural crisis, and rural crisis have been invoked in political and policy discourse to characterize significant disruptions in or threats to rural–farm livelihoods. Although these expressions reflect a general sense of concern over the state of agriculture and rural existence, they lack clear and concise meaning. Academic research and policy development are obfuscated by the lack of definitional consensus or, at minimum, some shared understanding of the core aspects of farm‐related crisis. Much of the debate revolves around four main themes: farm financial difficulties (low or unstable incomes, indebtedness, and increasing reliance on nonfarm revenue), structural changes in agriculture (increasing scale, concentration, and consolidation), rural livelihoods (dwindling communities, institutions, and services), and international dimensions (market fluctuations, trade regulations, and disputes). The examination of these interrelated levels of analysis offers a valuable framework for interpreting the multifold contexts, meanings, and responses to crisis. This paper explores varied representations of farm–agricultural crisis, with particular emphasis on the presumed causes (or precipitating factors), conditions, and related policies and programs. Les expressions ? crise agricole ? et ? crise rurale ? sont évoquées dans le discours politique pour caractériser des perturbations ou des menaces importantes aux moyens de subsistance en milieu rural et agricole. Bien que ces expressions traduisent certaines inquiétudes concernant la situation des secteurs agricole et rural, leur signification manque de clarté et de concision. Les chercheurs universitaires et les élaborateurs de politiques sont déconcertés par le manque de consensus définitionnel ou, du moins, par le manque de vision commune des aspects fondamentaux de la crise agricole. Une grande partie du débat tourne autour de quatre thèmes principaux: les difficultés financières de l’exploitation agricole (revenu faible ou instable, endettement et dépendance accrue aux revenus non agricoles); les changements structurels dans le secteur agricole (augmentation de l’échelle de production, concentration et regroupement); les moyens de subsistance en milieu rural (diminution du nombre de collectivités, d’institutions et de services); les dimensions internationales (fluctuations du marché, règlements concernant les échanges commerciaux, différends). L’examen de ces niveaux d’analyse interreliés offre un outil précieux pour interpréter les multiples contextes, significations et réactions aux crises. Le présent article analyse les diverses représentations de la crise dans le secteur agricole et se penche particulièrement sur les causes présumées (ou facteurs déclenchants), les conditions ainsi que les politiques et programmes connexes.     

我国农业劳动生产率决定的实证分析及政策含义

我国农村居民家庭收入变动的阶段性和结构性特征表明，农业生产效率下降是农业告产经营收入下降的直接原因。本文利用农业劳动生产率决定模型，从实证的角度分析了近年来我国农业家庭经营收入增长下降的内在逻辑和微观机理，并从转移农业剩余劳动力、充分利用结构调整空间、加大技术创新投入等方面提出了提高农业生产效率、增加农民收入的对策建议。     

The Effects of Agricultural R&D on Chinese Agricultural Productivity Growth: New Evidence of Convergence and Implications for Agricultural R&D Policy

This article measures and compares the effects of agricultural research and development (R&D) on total agricultural factor productivity growth for 29 Chinese provinces from 1986 to 2011. Using the convergence test proposed by Phillips and Sul ( 2007 ), the study finds strong evidence of convergence in total agricultural productivity growth and positive correlation between growth and public investment in R&D. The analysis of convergence indicates that the productivity gap between different regions in China has lessened, suggesting agricultural productivity is convergent across all provinces in China. We find R&D being statistically and economically more important in technological catch‐up than in innovation. Human capital also plays a major role in productivity growth. The finding of strong positive inter‐region spillover effects implies that expanding cooperation across regions for public agricultural research is more efficient and training of researchers can improve total factor productivity, especially in less productive regions. Cet article mesure et compare les effets de la recherche et du développement agricoles sur la progression de la productivité totale des facteurs agricoles au sein de 29 provinces chinoises de 1986 à 2011. Au moyen du test de convergence proposé par Phillips et Sul ( 2007 ), l′étude révèle des preuves manifestes de convergence de la croissance de productivité agricole totale ainsi qu'une corrélation positive entre cette progression et les investissements publics en recherche et en développement. L'analyse de convergence démontre la diminution de l′écart de productivité dans les régions de la Chine, suggérant la convergence de la productivité agricole à la grandeur des provinces chinoises. La recherche et le développement sont ainsi proposés comme étant statistiquement et économiquement plus importants dans le rattrapage technologique que l'innovation. Le capital humain joue aussi un rôle majeur dans la croissance de la productivité. Les forts effets positifs de débordement entre les régions laissent entendre que la coopération grandissante en recherche agricole publique à travers les régions s'avère plus efficace, et que la formation des chercheurs peut améliorer la productivité totale des facteurs, surtout dans les régions moins productives.     

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。     

Collective Marketing Arrangements for Geographically Differentiated Agricultural Products: Welfare Impacts and Policy Implications

We examine the incentives of atomistic producers to differentiate and collectively market products. We analyze market and welfare effects of alternative producer organizations, discuss circumstances under which they will evolve, and describe implications for the ongoing debate between the EU and the United States. As fixed costs of development and marketing increase and the anticipated market size falls, it becomes essential to increase the producer organization's ability to control supply to cover the fixed costs associated with the introduction of differentiated products. Counterintuitively, stronger property right protection for producer organizations may enhance welfare even after a differentiated product has been developed.     

积极应对农产品隐性贸易壁垒研究

我国农产品出口屡遭“绿色”和“动物福利”这两种隐性贸易壁垒的阻碍。作为发展中国家,在承认我国技术标准、福利水平与发达国家存在差距的同时,应积极在WTO规则框架内寻找政策突破口,充分利用“绿箱政策”,建立国内农业支持政策体系,有效应对农产品出口中的“隐性贸易壁垒”。     

The Evolving Structure of Chinese R&D Funding and its Implications for the Productivity of Agricultural Biotechnology Research

China’s research and development (R&D) policy has changed considerably over recent decades, and great changes occurred in 2006 when the main programme objective of China’s R&D changed from the 863 Programme and 973 Programme to the National Science and Technology Major Project. One topic that has drawn extensive attention is whether the investment reform improved R&D productivity in China. Using a unique panel dataset from 160 universities, this paper examines the effect of the investment reform on productivity improvement in China’s agricultural biotechnology sector. We use a panel count data model with a dynamic feedback mechanism to model the knowledge production process. Strong evidence indicates that the investment reform greatly contributes to knowledge output production in China’s agricultural biotechnology sector. We also find that the input quality is more important than the absolute quantity; human research capacity exhibits the greatest contribution to the output of patents; past knowledge accumulation helps produce more patents; and entry barriers to patent production exist in China’s agricultural biotechnology sector. Moreover, the patent explosion in China may have been largely caused by improvements in the human capital input quality.     

A New U.S. Farm Household Typology: Implications for Agricultural Policy

Changes in U.S. agriculture have yielded a diversity of farm types. These changes have extended beyond the farm business and into the farm household. The objective of this research is to motivate, develop, and discuss the policy implications of a new typology of U.S. farm households, which is based on household economic theory. Using the 2003 Agricultural Resource Management Survey and statistical analysis, the U.S. Farm Household Typology identifies six mutually exclusive groups of U.S. farm households. This typology is then compared to the current Economic Research Service Farm Typology and used to investigate the distribution of government payments.     

农业和农村发展的制度秀视及对中国的政策含义

对于发展中国家和转型国家,仅有宏观经济的稳定,生产和国际贸易的自由化,消除对农产品的价格控制是不够的。这些国家必须同时引入一整套新的解决办法,其中主要是制度改革和创新,方能实现所期望的农业和农村发展。     

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.