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Economies Of Scale And Scope And The Economic Efficiency Of China'S Agricultural Research System

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  • Songqing Jin
  • Scott Rozelle
  • Julian Alston
  • Jikun Huang

Abstract

This article investigates economies of scale and scope and other potential sources of improvements in the economic efficiency of China's crop breeding, an industry at the heart of the nation's food economy. Using data covering 46 wheat- and maize-breeding institutes from 1981 to 2000, we estimate cost functions for the production of new varieties at China's wheat- and maize-breeding institutes. Our results indicate strong economies of scale, along with small to moderate economies of scope related to the joint production of new wheat and maize varieties. Cost efficiency increases significantly with increases in the breeders' educational status and with increases in access to genetic materials from outside the institute. Copyright 2005 by the Economics Department Of The University Of Pennsylvania And Osaka University Institute Of Social And Economic Research Association.

Suggested Citation

  • Songqing Jin & Scott Rozelle & Julian Alston & Jikun Huang, 2005. "Economies Of Scale And Scope And The Economic Efficiency Of China'S Agricultural Research System," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 46(3), pages 1033-1057, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:ier:iecrev:v:46:y:2005:i:3:p:1033-1057
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. de Groot, Hans & McMahon, Walter W & Volkwein, J Fredericks, 1991. "The Cost Structure of American Research Universities," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(3), pages 424-431, August.
    2. Gyimah-Brempong, Kwabena, 1987. "Economies of Scale in Municipal Police Departments: The Case of Florida," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(2), pages 352-356, May.
    3. Jikun Huang & Carl Pray & Scott Rozelle, 2002. "Enhancing the crops to feed the poor," Nature, Nature, vol. 418(6898), pages 678-684, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hajargasht, Gholamreza & Coelli, Tim & Rao, D.S. Prasada, 2008. "A dual measure of economies of scope," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 100(2), pages 185-188, August.
    2. Takeshima, Hiroyuki & Nasir, Abdullahi Mohammed, 2017. "The role of the locations of public sector varietal development activities on agricultural productivity: Evidence from northern Nigeria," NSSP working papers 42, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Philip Metzger, 2023. "Economics of In-Space Industry and Competitiveness of Lunar-Derived Rocket Propellant," Papers 2303.09011, arXiv.org.
    4. Gao, Zhifeng & Featherstone, Allen M., 2008. "Estimating economies of scope using the profit function: A dual approach for the normalized quadratic profit function," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 100(3), pages 418-421, September.
    5. Takeshima, Hiroyuki & Hatzenbuehler, Patrick L. & Edeh, Hyacinth O., 2020. "Effects of agricultural mechanization on economies of scope in crop production in Nigeria," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    6. Matthew Andersen & Julian Alston & Philip Pardey, 2012. "Capital use intensity and productivity biases," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 59-71, February.
    7. Thomas P. Triebs & David S. Saal & Pablo Arocena & Subal C. Kumbhakar, 2016. "Estimating economies of scale and scope with flexible technology," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 173-186, April.
    8. Alem, Habtamu1 & Lien, Gudbrand1 & Kumbhakar, Subal C1 & Hardaker, J. Brian, 2017. "Economies Of Scale And Scope In The Norwegian Agriculture," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 260907, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Pardey, Philip G. & Alston, Julian M. & Ruttan, Vernon W., 2010. "The Economics of Innovation and Technical Change in Agriculture," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 939-984, Elsevier.
    10. Cui, Xiaomeng & Zhong, Zheng, 2024. "Climate change, cropland adjustments, and food security: Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).

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