Title: Investment in international agricultural research : some economic dimensions
Abstract: This paper first examines the socio-economic impact of agricultural research, particularly that carried out by the international centers. It notes that the high-yielding variety (HYV) cereal production technologies introduced in the mid-1960s significantly increased the total supply of basic foods and resulted in lower real food prices than would have been the case without such technologies. Major beneficiaries therefore have been low income consumer groups. The paper points out that widely-adopted agricultural technologies will at best leave relative income distribution unchanged among producers, but will widen absolute income disparities when productive assets are inequitably distributed. Although such technologies may increase the demand for rural labor, and therefore produce some income gains for the landless, the introduction of new technology is in general not an effective means to redistribute incomes among rural groups. The paper then addresses the optimal level of international investment in agricultural research. This is done using a conceptual framework to capture some of the more salient features of investment in research, using a research production function, supply and demand curves for research-generated agricultural production and discounted cash flow analysis.
Publication Year: 1979
Publication Date: 1979-10-31
Language: en
Type: book
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Cited By Count: 13
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