IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/ucdavw/190903.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Economies of Scale and Scope, and the Efficiency of China's Agricultural Research System

Author

Listed:
  • Jin, Songqing
  • Rozelle, Scott
  • Alston, Julian M.
  • Huang, Jikun

Abstract

Faced with the task of reorganizing the largest agricultural research system in the world, officials in China are developing a strategy for reform. This paper investigates economies of scale and scope and other potential sources of improvements in the economic efficiency of crop breeding, an industry at the heart of the nation’s food economy. Using a panel data set covering 46 wheat and maize breeding institutes from 1981 to 2000, we estimate both single output and multiple output cost functions for the production of new varieties at China’s wheat and maize breeding institutes. Our descriptive and analytical 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. Our results can help guide reformers in their efforts to increase the efficiency of China’s crop breeding system.

Suggested Citation

  • Jin, Songqing & Rozelle, Scott & Alston, Julian M. & Huang, Jikun, 2003. "Economies of Scale and Scope, and the Efficiency of China's Agricultural Research System," Working Papers 190903, University of California, Davis, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:ags:ucdavw:190903
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.190903
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/190903/files/WP03-003.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.190903?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shenggen Fan, 2000. "Research Investment and the Economic Returns To Chinese Agricultural Research," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 163-182, September.
    2. Alston, Julian M. & Marra, Michele C. & Pardey, Philip G. & Wyatt, T.J., 2000. "Research returns redux: a meta-analysis of the returns to agricultural R&D," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 44(2), pages 1-31.
    3. Fournier, Gary M & Mitchell, Jean M, 1992. "Hospital Costs and Competition for Services: A Multiproduct Analysis," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 74(4), pages 627-634, November.
    4. Echeverria, Ruben G., 1998. "Agricultural research policy issues in Latin America: An Overview," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 1103-1111, June.
    5. Pardey, Philip G. & Roseboom, Johannes & Anderson, Jock R., 1991. "Agricultural Research Policy: International Quantitative Perspectives," ISNAR Archive 310674, CGIAR > International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Baumol, William J, 1982. "Contestable Markets: An Uprising in the Theory of Industry Structure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(1), pages 1-15, March.
    7. Huang, Jikun & Rozelle, Scott, 1996. "Technological change: Rediscovering the engine of productivity growth in China's rural economy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 337-369, May.
    8. Wholey, Douglas & Feldman, Roger & Christianson, Jon B. & Engberg, John, 1996. "Scale and scope economies among health maintenance organizations," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 657-684, December.
    9. Weninger, Quinn, 1998. "A general approach for estimating the translog function in the presence of zero-value agruments," ISU General Staff Papers 199812120800001336, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    10. Songqing Jin & Jikun Huang & Ruifa Hu & Scott Rozelle, 2002. "The Creation and Spread of Technology and Total Factor Productivity in China's Agriculture," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 84(4), pages 916-930.
    11. Unknown, 1999. "The Global Wheat Improvement System: Prospects for Enhancing Efficiency in the Presence of Spillovers," Miscellaneous Reports 233048, CIMMYT: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.
    12. 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.
    13. Cohn, Elchanan & Rhine, Sherrie L W & Santos, Maria C, 1989. "Institutions of Higher Education as Multi-product Firms: Economies of Scale and Scope," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 71(2), pages 284-290, May.
    14. Murray, John D & White, Robert W, 1983. "Economies of Scale and Economies of Scope in Multiproduct Financial Institutions: A Study of British Columbia Credit Unions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 38(3), pages 887-902, June.
    15. Alston, Julian M. & Pardey, Philip G., 2001. "Attribution and other problems in assessing the returns to agricultural R&D," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 25(2-3), pages 141-152, September.
    16. Jikun Huang & Carl Pray & Scott Rozelle, 2002. "Enhancing the crops to feed the poor," Nature, Nature, vol. 418(6898), pages 678-684, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:oup:apecpp:v:40:y:2018:i:3:p:421-444. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. 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.
    3. Néstor Duch-Brown & Martí Parellada-Sabata & Jose Polo-Otero, 2010. "Economies of scale and scope of university research and technology transfer: a flexible multi-product approach," Working Papers 2010/51, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    4. Sinay, Tony, 2005. "Cost structure of osteopathic hospitals and their local counterparts in the USA: Are they any different?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(8), pages 1805-1814, April.
    5. Robert E. Martin, 2011. "The College Cost Disease," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14179, December.
    6. José A Delfino, 1997. "Economías de Escala y de Producción Conjunta en las Entidades Financieras: Un Análisis Empírico del Sistema Bancario," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 34(101), pages 87-100.
    7. Chavas, Jean-Paul & Barham, Bradford L., 2007. "On the Microeconomics of Diversification under Uncertainty and Learning," Staff Papers 92141, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    8. Martin Gaynor & Deborah Haas-Wilson, 1999. "Change, Consolidation, and Competition in Health Care Markets," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 141-164, Winter.
    9. Tommaso Agasisti & Giuseppe Munda, 2017. "Efficiency of investment in compulsory education: An Overview of Methodological Approaches," JRC Research Reports JRC106681, Joint Research Centre.
    10. 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.
    11. Ugur Muldur & Mohamed Sassenou, 1993. "Economies of scale and scope in French banking and savings institutions," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 51-72, June.
    12. Chao Zhang & Ruifa Hu, 2020. "Does Fertilizer Use Intensity Respond to the Urban-Rural Income Gap? Evidence from a Dynamic Panel-Data Analysis in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, January.
    13. Shukhrat Kholmuminov & Robert E Wright, 2017. "Cost efficiency analysis of public higher education institutions in Uzbekistan," Working Papers 1704, University of Strathclyde Business School, Department of Economics.
    14. G. Thomas Sav, 2004. "Higher education costs and scale and scope economies," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(6), pages 607-614.
    15. Huang, Qiuqiong & Rozelle, Scott & Lohmar, Bryan & Huang, Jikun & Wang, Jinxia, 2006. "Irrigation, agricultural performance and poverty reduction in China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 30-52, February.
    16. Alejandro Plastina & Lilyan Fulginiti, 2012. "Rates of return to public agricultural research in 48 US states," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 95-113, April.
    17. Emiko Fukase & Will Martin, 2016. "Who Will Feed China in the 21st Century? Income Growth and Food Demand and Supply in China," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 3-23, February.
    18. Heisey, Paul W. & Lantican, Maximina A. & Dubin, H. Jesse, 2002. "Impacts of International Wheat Breeding Research in Developing Countries, 1966-97," Impact Studies 7653, CIMMYT: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.
    19. H. Naci Mocan, 1995. "The Child Care Industry: Cost Functions, Efficiency, and Quality," NBER Working Papers 5293, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Roberto Esposti & Pierpaolo Pierani, 2003. "Building the Knowledge Stock: Lags, Depreciation, and Uncertainty in R&D Investment and Link with Productivity Growth," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 33-58, January.
    21. Jikun Huang & Scott Rozelle & Xinkai Zhu & Shiji Zhao & Yu Sheng, 2020. "Agricultural and rural development in China during the past four decades: an introduction," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(1), pages 1-13, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:ucdavw:190903. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/daucdus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.