Biotechnology, agriculture and the developing world : the distributional implications of technological change

Author(s)

• Swanson, Timothy M.

Bibliographic Information

Biotechnology, agriculture and the developing world : the distributional implications of technological change

edited by Timothy Swanson

E. Elgar, c2002

Note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

How will the industrial changes implicit within new biotechnologies affect modern agriculture? This book investigates these changes and provides an economic analysis of the industrial and distributional impacts of new biotechnologies, addressing in detail the significant consequences for developing countries.One of the most important facets of biotechnological change is the development of new technologies for appropriating the value of innovations in related industries. In agriculture these new appropriation technologies are known as 'genetic use restriction technologies', which enable the innovator to capture the value of innovative plant varieties by preventing their reproduction after purchase. This book analyses the implications of such technologies in terms of global agricultural production, the rate of innovation at the technological frontier and, in particular, the diffusion of these innovations across the globe. The authors set forth the economic and institutional framework within which innovations are occurring, focusing on the impacts on the least technologically advanced nations and their incentives to conserve genetic resources for use in future research and development. This stimulating book should be widely read by agricultural and resource economists, development economists, and scholars and researchers of environmental economics. Policymakers in developing countries will also gain valuable insights into the distribution of the potential benefits from biotechnology.

Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction 1. Biotechnologies and Developing Countries: How Will the Anticipated Industrial Changes in Agriculture Affect Developing Countries? Timothy Swanson PART I: SETTING THE SCENE: THE FRAMEWORK FOR CONSIDERING BIOTECHNOLOGY'S IMPACTS 2. Population Growth and Agricultural Intensification in Developing Countries Nadia Cuffaro 3. The Impacts of GURTs: Agricultural R&D and Appropriation Mechanisms Timothy Swanson and Timo Goeschl 4. Agricultural Biotechnology and Developing Countries: Proprietary Knowledge and Diffusion of Benefits Charles Spillane PART II: A CASE STUDY ON TERMINATORS: THE IMPACTS OF BIOTECHNOLOGIES ON BENEFIT DISTRIBUTION 5. The Impact of Terminator Gene Technologies on Developing Countries: A Legal Analysis William W. Fisher 6. Impact of Terminator Technologies in Developing Countries: A Framework for Economic Analysis C.S. Srinivasan and Colin Thirtle 7. The Impact of GURTs on Developing Countries: A Preliminary Assessment Timothy Swanson and Timo Goeschl 8. Forecasting the Impact of Genetic Use Restriction Technologies: A Case Study on the Impact of Hybrid Crop Varieties Timo Goeschl and Timothy Swanson PART III: BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIODIVERSITY: THE IMPACTS OF BIOTECHNOLOGIES ON CONSERVATION OF GENETIC RESOURCES 9. Key Issues in Using Molecular Techniques to Improve Conservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources Carmen de Vincente, Toby Hodgkin and Geoffrey Hawtin 10. Biotechnology and Traditional Breeding in Sub-Saharan Africa Vittorio Santaniello CONCLUSION 11. Policy Options for the Biotechnology Revolution: What Can be Done to Address the Distributional Implications of Biotechnologies? Timothy Swanson and Timo Goeschl Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

• NCID: BA56249186
• ISBN:
  • 1840646799
• Country Code: uk
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: Cheltenham
• Pages/Volumes: xi, 281 p.
• Size: 24 cm