Potential Impacts of Golden Rice on Public Health in India

Alexander Stein, H.P.S. Sachdev and Matin Qaim

No 25381, 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia from International Association of Agricultural Economists

Abstract: Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects millions of people world-wide, causing serious health problems. Golden Rice (GR), which has been genetically engineered to produce beta-carotene, is being proposed as a remedy. While this new technology has aroused controversial debates, its nutritional impact and cost-effectiveness remain unclear. We determine the current burden of VAD in India from a public health perspective,and simulate the potential alleviating impact of GR using representative household food consumption data. Given broad public support, GR could more than halve the overall burden of VAD. Juxtaposing health benefits and overall costs suggests that GR is very costeffective.

Keywords: Crop Production/Industries; Health Economics and Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 15
Date: 2006
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:iaae06:25381

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.25381

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