THE MARKET ACCEPTANCE AND WELFARE IMPACTS OF GENETIC USE RESTRICTION TECHNOLOGIES (GURTS)

We develop an analytical framework of heterogeneous consumers and producers to examine the market and welfare effects of Technology Use Agreements (TUAs) and variety-level Genetic Use Restriction Technologies (V-GURTs). Specifically, we examine an innovator’s decision to introduce V-GURTs into a new seed variety that offers enhanced agronomic characteristics to producers and desirable functional properties to consumers, taking into account heterogeneous consumer preferences regarding interventions in the production process and farmer characteristics and incentives to engage in unauthorized use of proprietary seed.