Yes, in your backyard: Forced technological adoption and spatial externalities

Anouch Missirian

No 24-1545, TSE Working Papers from Toulouse School of Economics (TSE)

Abstract: I study a phenomenon of hastened technology adoption facilitated by a negative spatial externality. GMO seeds have been engineered to withstand the application of particular weedkillers: farmers can use them in-crop, killing the weeds, leaving the crop unscathed. I show that the adoption of such seeds generates negative externalities on downwind neighbors, increasing the probability of the adoption of the same seed by 29% as well as a conversion of cropland to different crops able to withstand the weedkiller. Overall yields remained unchanged as the benefits of the weedkiller on yields are offset by the negative effects of crop failures for neighbors. Consequences of such rapid adoption include possible monopolization on the seed market.

Keywords: Technology adoption; spatial externalities; land use, pesticides (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O33 Q15 Q16 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tse:wpaper:129419

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