Although the benefits of genetically modified (GM) crops have been well documented, how do farmers manage the risk of new technology in the early stages of technology adoption has received less attention. We compare the total factor productivity (TFP) of cotton to other major crops (wheat, rice,...

"This volume concentrates on the recent scientific advancements in agricultural biotechnology and reintegrates it with socio-economic, industrial and intellectual property aspects of agricultural biotechnology and its implications for accomplishing the sustainable development goals. Adopting a...

Pricing of biotechnology innovation under a patent grant is reconsidered in a model with uncertain returns and irreversible costs and benefits. Past results on restricted monopoly pricing in the presence of competing technologies showed that pricing power is reduced. The timing of adoption of an...

This article is about the need for more and more nutritious food, the potential genetic engineering technology has to contribute to a solution, the fact that this potential is blocked by regulation, which to my understanding is totally unjustified.

"As development donors invest hundreds of millions of dollars into improved crops designed to alleviate poverty and hunger, Africa has emerged as the final frontier in the global debate over agricultural biotechnology. The first data-driven assessment of the ecological, social, and political...

A new, inclusive collection of 11,000 agricultural biotechnology utility patents issued between 1988 and 2002 is related to characteristics of agbiotech, seed, chemical, diversified multinational and European firms. The patents are classified into nine technologies, and mergers and acquisitions...

Do transgenic crops cause agrobiodiversity erosion? We hypothesize that they increase productivity and reduce production risk and may therefore reduce farmer demand for on-farm varietal diversity, especially when only a few transgenic varieties are available. We also hypothesize that varietal...

The authors provide estimates of the economic impact of initial adoption of genetically modified (GM) cotton and of its potential impacts beyond the few countries where it is currently common. They use the latest version of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database and model. The results...

Autoreifen aus Löwenzahn, Plastik aus Kartoffeln, Sprit aus Zucker oder Flugkerosin aus Algen: von einer "wissensbasierten Bioökonomie" erhoffen sich deren Förderer Lösungen für die zentrale Frage des 21. Jahrhunderts. Wie können in Zeiten des Klimawandels immer mehr Menschen von immer...

We analyze yield effects of tissue culture (TC) banana technology in the Kenyan small farm sector, using recent survey data and an endogenous switching regression approach. TC banana plantlets, which are free from pests and diseases, have been introduced in East Africa since the late-1990s....

While tissue culture (TC) technology for vegetative plant propagation is gradually gaining in importance in Africa, rigorous ex post assessments of welfare effects for smallholder farm households is lacking. Using recent survey data and accounting for self-selection in technology adoption, we...

Ex-ante regulations and ex-post liabilities for using a new technology will induce additional costs for adopters. The standard model is advanced by including irreversibility and uncertainty and taking into account transaction costs of negotiating possible cost reductions. The case analysed is...

Genetically modified corn seed companies have innovated continuously with the introduction of new traits and, more recently, with the creation of stacked varieties. Thiswork develops a Bayesian model of adoption that demonstrates how uncertainty with a package technology can lead to a sequential...

Constraints on land and water resources, growth in population, and an apparent slowdown in agricultural productivity raise concerns that food prices may rise substantially in the coming decades. A key question is whether policies aimed at increasing agricultural productivity may be effective in...

Ex-ante regulations and ex-post liabilities for using a new technology will induce additional costs for adopters. The standard model is advanced by including irreversibility and uncertainty and taking into account transaction costs of negotiating possible cost reductions. The case analysed is...