RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN JOINT PUBLIC-PRIVATE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

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 CRADA projects at the U.S. Department of Agriculture with research priorities of public and private intramural agricultural research. The findings suggest that CRADAs have attracted considerable private co-financing of joint research projects, and may have enabled public research to concentrate more resources on research areas where private incentives are relatively weak.