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Public R&D Meets Economic Development: Embrapa and Brazil’s Agricultural Revolution

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  • Ariel Akerman
  • Jacob Moscona
  • Heitor S. Pellegrina
  • Karthik Sastry

Abstract

Can public R&D in developing countries raise productivity? We study how Brazil’s Embrapa—a public research corporation founded in 1973 to develop locally-relevant agricultural technologies—shaped agricultural development. Researcher-level micro-data reveal that Embrapa shifted innovation toward staple crops and Brazil-specific ecology, with no decline in researcher productivity. Exploiting Embrapa’s staggered expansion alongside municipality-level variation in the ecological suitability of Em-brapa’s innovation, we find significant increases in agricultural productivity, concen-trated in targeted staple crops. Our estimates imply that Embrapa raised aggregate agricultural productivity by 110% with a benefit–cost ratio of 17, driven by the appli-cability of Embrapa’s innovation across Brazil.

Suggested Citation

  • Ariel Akerman & Jacob Moscona & Heitor S. Pellegrina & Karthik Sastry, 2025. "Public R&D Meets Economic Development: Embrapa and Brazil’s Agricultural Revolution," NBER Working Papers 34213, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34213
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    Cited by:

    1. Jacob Moscona & Nathan Nunn & James A. Robinson, 2026. "Searching for Fish in Trees (緣木求魚)? Economic Development when Context Matters," NBER Working Papers 34810, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Jacob Moscona, 2025. "Environmental Catastrophe and the Direction of Invention: Evidence from the American Dust Bowl," NBER Working Papers 34438, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Moscona, Jacob & Nunn, Nathan & Robinson, James A., 2026. "Searching for Fish in Trees (緣木求魚)? Economic Development when Context Matters," CEPR Discussion Papers 21124, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    4. Eugenie Dugoua & Jacob Moscona, 2025. "The Economics of climate innovation: technology, climate policy, and the clean energy transition," CEP Discussion Papers dp2135, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    5. Lerner, Josh & Liu, Junxi & Moscona, Jacob & Yang, David Y., 2026. "Appropriate Entrepreneurship? The Rise of China and the Developing World," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1608, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    6. Eugenie Dugoua & Jacob Moscona, 2025. "The Economics of Climate Innovation: Technology, Climate Policy, and the Clean Energy Transition," CESifo Working Paper Series 12267, CESifo.
    7. Lerner, Josh & Liu, Junxi & Moscona, Jacob & Yang, David Y., 2026. "Appropriate Entrepreneurship? The Rise of China and the Developing World," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 799, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O25 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity
    • O54 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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