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Financing agricultural R&D in rich countries: what's happening and why

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  • Alston, Julian M.
  • Pardey, Philip G.
  • Smith, Vincent H.

Abstract

Governments everywhere are trimming their support for agricultural R&D, giving greater scrutiny to the support that they do provide, and reforming the public agencies that fund, oversee, and carry out the research. This represents a break from previous patterns, which had consisted of expansion in the public funds for agricultural R&D. Private‐sector spending on agricultural research has slowed along with the growth of public spending in recent years, but the balance continues to shift towards the private sector. This article presents a quantitative review of these funding trends and the considerable institutional changes that have accompanied them. We discuss new data for 22 OECD countries, providing institutional details for five of these countries, and conclude with an assessment of policy developments.

Suggested Citation

  • Alston, Julian M. & Pardey, Philip G. & Smith, Vincent H., 1998. "Financing agricultural R&D in rich countries: what's happening and why," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 42(1), pages 1-32.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aareaj:117222
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.117222
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    Cited by:

    1. Vanloqueren, Gaëtan & Baret, Philippe V., 2009. "How agricultural research systems shape a technological regime that develops genetic engineering but locks out agroecological innovations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 971-983, July.
    2. Giannakas, Konstantinos & Fulton, Murray, 2002. "Consumption effects of genetic modification: what if consumers are right?," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 97-109, August.
    3. Ruttan, Vernon W., 2001. "The Role Of The Public Sector In Technology Development: Generalizations From General Purpose Technologies," Staff Papers 13563, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    4. Alfranca, Oscar & Huffman, Wallace E., 1999. "Private R&D Investments in Agriculture: The Role of Incentives and Institutions," ISU General Staff Papers 199912010800001333, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    5. Huffman, Wallace E., 1999. "New Insights on the Organization of Agricultural Research: Theory and Evidence for Western Developed Countries," ISU General Staff Papers 199907010700001319, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    6. Binenbaum, Eran, 2003. "The Intellectual Property Strategy of International Agricultural Research Centres," 2003 Conference (47th), February 12-14, 2003, Fremantle, Australia 57835, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    7. Kingwell, R. & Godden, D. & Kambuou, R. & Jackson, G., 2001. "Managing and funding germplasm preservation in Papua New Guinea -- for improved indigenous foods," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 265-280, June.
    8. Srinivasan, Chittur S., 2003. "Assessing Economic Returns From Farmers' Rights," 2003 Annual Meeting, August 16-22, 2003, Durban, South Africa 25887, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Klerkx, Laurens & Leeuwis, Cees, 2008. "Institutionalizing end-user demand steering in agricultural R&D: Farmer levy funding of R&D in The Netherlands," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 460-472, April.
    10. repec:kap:iaecre:v:11:y:2005:i:2:p:201-213 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. C. S. Srinivasan & Colin Thirtle, 2000. "Understanding the emergence of terminator technologies," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(8), pages 1147-1158.

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