Papers by Kelly Day-rubenstein
Using Crop Genetic Resources to Help Agriculture Adapt to Climate Change: Economics and Policy
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation, Mar 20, 2015
In the USA, the public sector historically was the primary supplier of new agricultural technolog... more In the USA, the public sector historically was the primary supplier of new agricultural technologies. But over the past 20-30 years, public agricultural research funding has been relatively stagnant while private sector research spending has surpassed it. At the same time, as the US policy environment has changed, patenting and licensing have become increasingly important mechanisms for technology transfer from the public sector. We review these policy changes and provide an empirical example of public sector patenting in agricultural biotechnology. Patenting by the US federal government has been relatively limited and concentrated in a few areas of technology. On the other hand, agricultural biotechnology patenting by US universities has expanded rapidly and has covered a broader spectrum of technologies.
Agricultural biotechnology has been advancing very rapidly, and while it presents many promises, ... more Agricultural biotechnology has been advancing very rapidly, and while it presents many promises, it also poses as many questions. Many dimensions to agricultural biotechnology need to be considered to adequately inform public policy. Policy is made more difficult by the fact that agricultural biotechnology encompasses many policy issues addressed in very different ways. We have identified several key areasagricultural research policy, industry structure, production and marketing, consumer issues, and future world food demandwhere agricultural biotechnology is dramatically affecting the public policy agenda. This report focuses on the economic aspects of these issues and addresses some current and timely issues as well as longer term issues.
Resource Allocation in Joint Public-Private Agricultural Research
Federal technology transfer legislation has encouraged increased collaboration between the public... more Federal technology transfer legislation has encouraged increased collaboration between the public and private sectors, including joint research ventures known as Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs). While several economically important technologies have been developed through CRADAs, there is concern that CRADA may divert public research from its central research missions. This study compares the pattern of research resource allocation for
Agricultural biotechnology has been advancing very rapidly, and while it presents many promises, ... more Agricultural biotechnology has been advancing very rapidly, and while it presents many promises, it also poses as many questions. Many dimensions to agricultural biotechnology need to be considered to adequately inform public policy. Policy is made more difficult by the fact that agricultural biotechnology encompasses many policy issues addressed in very different ways. We have identified several key areasagricultural research policy, industry structure, production and marketing, consumer issues, and future world food demandwhere agricultural biotechnology is dramatically affecting the public policy agenda. This report focuses on the economic aspects of these issues and addresses some current and timely issues as well as longer term issues.
There has been extensive debate over whether private-sector bioprospecting for pharmaceutical com... more There has been extensive debate over whether private-sector bioprospecting for pharmaceutical compounds creates significant incentives for biodiversity conservation. We offer a case study of the discovery and commercial development of the anti-cancer drug taxol from the Pacific yew tree, highlighting neglected issues in the debate over bioprospecting and conservation incentives. The discovery of taxol and the search for taxol-like compounds illustrates how bioprospecting can substitute threats to biodiversity from over-harvesting for threats to biodiversity from habitat conversion. As this example illustrates, whether creation of market demand for genetic resources encourages or discourages biodiversity conservation depends crucially on underlying property rights.
The Deficit in Natural Resource Research
Over the past 20 years, patenting in agricultural biotechnology has grown even faster than the ra... more Over the past 20 years, patenting in agricultural biotechnology has grown even faster than the rapid increase in US utility patents. Private firms, universities, and the federal government all increased patenting in agricultural biotechnology. Universities have increased patenting in agricultural biotechnology particularly rapidly, and they now hold a greater proportion of agricultural biotechnology patents than they do of patents in general. Private firms tend to dominate patenting in plant technologies and molecular level agricultural biotechnology. Differences in patterns of patent production suggest not only differences in agricultural biotechnology research investment but also differences in motivations for patenting.
Climate change poses significant risks to future crop productivity as temperatures rise, rainfall... more Climate change poses significant risks to future crop productivity as temperatures rise, rainfall patterns become more variable, and pest and disease pressures increase. The use of crop genetic resources to develop varieties more tolerant to rapidly changing environ - mental conditions will be an important part of agricultural adaptation to climate change. Finding new genetic traits that can facilitate adaptation—and incorporating them into commercially successful varieties—is time-consuming, expensive, and technically diffi - � cult. The public-goods characteristics of genetic resources can create obstacles to rewards for private research and development. Because of insufficient private incentives, public- sector investment in the use of genetic resources will help determine the agricultural sector’s ability to maintain crop productivity, and for society as a whole, the potential benefits of public investment are large. The study authors find, however, that factors such as intellec...
The Benefits of Public Investment in Agricultural Research from a US Perspective
Outlooks on Pest Management, 2011
ABSTRACT Agriculture is a science-based industry. Nearly all productivity improvements are the re... more ABSTRACT Agriculture is a science-based industry. Nearly all productivity improvements are the result of research and development (R&D), whether they be mechanical (eg farm equipment), biological (eg plant and animal varieties) or management related (eg integrated pest management). Individual agricultural producers are unlikely to reach the scale of production needed to recover R&D costs, which means most of the science applied to agriculture is developed by public research institutions or private companies. Much of the science used in agriculture comes from the life sciences. Plant and animal varieties need resistance to pests and diseases, and tolerance to non-biological stresses such as drought and heat. Some stressors can be managed physically or chemically (eg irrigation or crop protection with pesticides). Even in these cases, understanding the biological basis of how plants, animals, and pests will respond is essential to efficient management. The US agricultural research system illustrates many of the complexities that characterize research systems worldwide. Measuring the benefits of agricultural research is subject to many methodological and practical difficulties, in part because of the multiplicity of research institutions and in part because public goods outputs of research institutions are inherently difficult to discern. Individual research projects and programs pose more complexities for measurement than agricultural research taken as a whole. When R&D is aggregated, the payoffs to public agricultural research are large, and these payoffs have been confirmed in most of the studies that have addressed the issue. Public agricultural research is also complementary to private research - in other words, it tends to raise returns to private research. Thus, reductions in investment in public agricultural research may lead to lower growth in agricultural productivity, higher prices for agricultural products, and elevated environmental costs as pressure to expand cropland would intensify. The complementarity between public and private agricultural research means private research institutions would find it increasingly difficult to fill the gaps left by lower public investment. Furthermore, in addition to the indirect contribution of public research to reducing environmental damage by raising agricultural productivity, public research is also more likely to address directly research topics in the areas of environmental protection and nutrition-related human health.
Energy efficiency, technological change and the dieselization of agriculture in the United States
Transportation Planning and Technology, 1992
ABSTRACT
Over the years, proposals have recommended shifting the focus of public agricultural research fro... more Over the years, proposals have recommended shifting the focus of public agricultural research from applied to basic research, and giving higher priority to peer-reviewed, competitively funded grants. The public agricultural research system in the United States is a Federal-State partnership, with most research conducted at State institutions. In recent years, State funds have declined, USDA funds have remained fairly steady (with changes in the composition of funding), but funding from other Federal agencies and the private sector has increased. Efforts to increase competitively awarded funds for research have fl uctuated over time, as have special grants (earmarks). Along with shifts in funding sources, the proportion of basic research being undertaken within the public agricultural research system has declined. This report focuses on the way public agricultural research is funded in the United States and how changes in funding sources over the last 25 years refl ect changes in the...
International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation, 2006
In the USA, the public sector historically was the primary supplier of new agricultural technolog... more In the USA, the public sector historically was the primary supplier of new agricultural technologies. But over the past 20-30 years, public agricultural research funding has been relatively stagnant while private sector research spending has surpassed it. At the same time, as the US policy environment has changed, patenting and licensing have become increasingly important mechanisms for technology transfer from the public sector. We review these policy changes and provide an empirical example of public sector patenting in agricultural biotechnology. Patenting by the US federal government has been relatively limited and concentrated in a few areas of technology. On the other hand, agricultural biotechnology patenting by US universities has expanded rapidly and has covered a broader spectrum of technologies.
Crop Science, 2006
Although genetic resources have strong public-goods characteristics, public genebanks often have ... more Although genetic resources have strong public-goods characteristics, public genebanks often have struggled for adequate funding. A review of economic literature on the value of plant genetic resources indicated that more information is needed about germplasm use. The data compiled in this paper examine patterns of germplasm use for one of the world's largest national genebank networks, the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). Data on 10 major crops, gathered directly from within the NPGS and from end-users, revealed patterns of usage for germplasm during the period from 1995 to 1999. Data were collected describing the characteristics of NPGS users, the types of germplasm requested, the purpose of requests, and, when applicable, the specific traits sought. From these findings, we estimated the utility of distributed materials, their secondary use, and projected future demand for NPGS resources. To explore relationships between the usefulness of germplasm samples and accompanying data in a more systematic fashion, we estimated a linear regression. The regression model suggests that accompanying data make germplasm more useful. We conclude that demand for NPGS resources was substantial and came from broad range of users. Utilization rates were higher than suggested by past studies. Countries with developing economies made greater use of NPGS resources, relatively speaking, than did countries with high-income economies. Finally, demand for NPGS resources is likely to increase, especially among users in countries with developing economies.
Medical Research and Genetic Resources Management: The Case of Taxol
Contemporary Economic Policy, 1993
ABSTRACT
The Deficit in Natural Resources Research
BioScience, 1991
Interagency Group Discusses the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources
Chapter 18: MEASURING THE FOOD SAFETY RISK OF PESTICIDES
ABSTRACT
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Papers by Kelly Day-rubenstein