Is agricultural research still a public good?

James F. Oehmke, Dave Weatherspoon (), Christopher Wolf (), Anwar Naseem (), Mywish Maredia and Amie Hightower
Additional contact information
James F. Oehmke: Department of Agricultural Economics, Agriculture Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1069, Postal: Department of Agricultural Economics, Agriculture Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1069
Amie Hightower: Department of Agricultural Economics, Agriculture Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1069, Postal: Department of Agricultural Economics, Agriculture Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1069

Agribusiness, 2000, vol. 16, issue 1, 68-81

Abstract: Biotechnology is redefining the nature of agricultural research and intellectual property. In response, public agricultural research institutions are increasingly protecting their intellectual property and commercializing research results. This raises the question: Is agricultural research still a public good? This paper is a critical first step in understanding how increasingly private ownership of intellectual property affects the agribusiness environment and the evolving role of public agricultural research institutions. The innovative step is the development of a neo-Schumpeterian model which examines whether commercialization of public research maximizes social welfare. The model contains two types of research firms: large firms such as the major life-science companies; and small university-related firms (SMURFs). Results show that both large firms and SMURFs underinvest in research relative to the social optimum, that research investment can exhibit cyclical behavior, and that there is a continued, albeit diminished, role for public agricultural research as the life-science revolution progresses. [JEL Classifications: Q13, O34, L10] © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Date: 2000
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
Working Paper: IS AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH STILL A PUBLIC GOOD? (1999)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:agribz:v:16:y:2000:i:1:p:68-81

DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1520-6297(200024)16:1<68::AID-AGR6>3.0.CO;2-I

Access Statistics for this article

Agribusiness is currently edited by Ronald W. Cotterill

More articles in Agribusiness from John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().