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International And Institutional R&D Spillovers: Attribution Of Benefits Among Sources For Brazil'S New Crop Varieties

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  • Alston, Julian M.
  • Pardey, Philip G.
  • Chan-Kang, Connie
  • Magalhaes, Eduardo Castelo
  • Vosti, Stephen A.

Abstract

In general, reported rates of return to agricultural R&D are high, but questions have been raised about upward biases in the evidence. Among the reasons for this bias, insufficient attention to attribution aspects-matching of research benefits and costs-is a pervasive problem, the magnitude of which is illustrated here with new evidence for Brazil. Over the period 1981 to 2003, varietal improvements in upland rice, edible beans, and soybeans yielded benefits attributable to research of $14.8 billion in present value (1999 prices) terms; 6.1 percent of the corresponding value of crop output. If all of those benefits were attributed to Embrapa, a public research corporation accounting for more than half Brazil's agricultural R&D spending, the benefit-cost ratio would be 78:1. If a geometric attribution rule based on genetic histories is used in conjunction with quantitative evidence on the extent of research collaborations to account for the innovative effort of others, the ratio drops substantially to 16:1 (or an internal rate of return of 38.7 percent). The sources of these gains vary markedly among crops and over time, making it hard to generalize about the international and institutional origins of varietal innovations in Brazilian agriculture during the past several decades.

Suggested Citation

  • Alston, Julian M. & Pardey, Philip G. & Chan-Kang, Connie & Magalhaes, Eduardo Castelo & Vosti, Stephen A., 2004. "International And Institutional R&D Spillovers: Attribution Of Benefits Among Sources For Brazil'S New Crop Varieties," Staff Papers 14017, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:umaesp:14017
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.14017
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    2. Wang, Sun Ling & Ball, V. Eldon & Fulginiti, Lilyan E. & Plastina, Alejandro S., 2012. "Benefits of Public R&D in U.S. Agriculture: Spill-Ins, Extension, and Roads," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126368, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Pellegrina, Heitor S., 2022. "Trade, productivity, and the spatial organization of agriculture: Evidence from Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    4. Arega D. Alene & Abebe Menkir & S. O. Ajala & B. Badu‐Apraku & A. S. Olanrewaju & V. M. Manyong & Abdou Ndiaye, 2009. "The economic and poverty impacts of maize research in West and Central Africa," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(5), pages 535-550, September.
    5. Reyes, Byron A. & Maredia, Mywish K. & Bernsten, Richard H. & Rosas, Juan Carlos, 2016. "Opportunities Seized, Opportunities Missed: Differences in the Economic Impact of Bean Research in Five Latin American Countries," Food Security International Development Working Papers 251850, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    6. You, Liangzhi, 2012. "A tale of two countries: Spatial and temporal patterns of rice productivity in China and Brazil," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 690-703.
    7. Alston, Julian M. & Sebastian, Kate & Beintema, Nienke M. & Hertford, Reed & Wood, Stanley & Wood-Sichra, Ulrike & You, Liang & Chan-Kang, Connie & Revoredo-Giha, César L. & Pardey, Philip G., 2010. "Research Futures: Projecting Agricultural R&D Potentials for Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 303.
    8. M. Alston Julian & G. Pardey Philip, 2017. "Working Paper 260 - Transforming Traditional Agriculture Redux," Working Paper Series 2371, African Development Bank.
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    10. Julian M. Alston & Philip G. Pardey & Xudong Rao, 2022. "Payoffs to a half century of CGIAR research," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(2), pages 502-529, March.
    11. Geraldo B. Martha & Elisio Contini & Eliseu Alves, 2012. "Embrapa: Its Origins and Changes," Chapters, in: Werner Baer (ed.), The Regional Impact of National Policies, chapter 12, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Mywish K. Maredia & Richard Bernsten & Catherine Ragasa, 2010. "Returns to public sector plant breeding in the presence of spill‐ins and private goods: the case of bean research in Michigan," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 41(5), pages 425-442, September.

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