An Analysis of Selectivity in the Productivity Evaluation of Biotechnology: An Application to Corn

We investigate selectivity bias in the evaluation of biotech hybrid productivity. The analysis is applied to experimental data on Wisconsin corn yields from 1990 to 2010. Relying on a Heckman-like factor that accounts for selectivity, we find evidence of selection bias, indicating that some of the observed yield advantage associated with GM hybrids can be attributed to their conventional genes. We document how the rising market concentration of biotech firms has contributed to increasing selectivity bias in corn yield. The impact, however, is offset by the negative effect of the rising adoption rate of GM corn on selectivity bias. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.