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Science 14 September 1979:
Vol. 205. no. 4411, pp. 1101 - 1107
DOI: 10.1126/science.205.4411.1101
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Articles

Economic Benefits from Research: An Example from Agriculture

Robert E. Evenson 1, Paul E. Waggoner 2, and Vernon W. Ruttan 3

1 Professor in the Department of Economics, Economic Growth Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
2 Director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven 06504
3 Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics and Department of Economics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455

In this article we examine the economic benefits of the long history of public research in agriculture. Agricultural productivity continues to grow. Annual rates of return on research expenditure are of the order of 50 percent. Research oriented to science is profitable when associated with technological research. Decentralization, as in the system of state agricultural experiment stations and substations, has allowed close association of research oriented to science with that oriented to technology and to farming. The high rate of return shows that investment in public research in agriculture is too low. This is at least partially because research benefits spill over to other regions and to consumers, reducing the incentives for local support.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Research Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Forest Service: Current Practice and Options for Improvement.
D. N. Bengston and H. F. Kaiser (1988)
Eval Rev 12, 276-290
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A Competitive R&D Strategy for U.S. Agriculture.
D. HOLT (1987)
Science 237, 1401-1402
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R&D and Productivity: Measurement Issues and Econometric Results.
Z. GRILICHES (1987)
Science 237, 31-35
   Abstract »    PDF »
Evaluation of Research in Home Economics: Background and New Approaches.
M. J. T. Norton and V. J. Wall (1984)
Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal 12, 435-449
   Abstract »
Evaluation Of Benefits From Research In Home Economics.
C. B. Volker and R. E. Deacon (1982)
Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal 10, 321-331
   Abstract »
Changing Role of Public and Private Sectors in Agricultural Research.
V. W. Ruttan (1982)
Science 216, 23-29
   Abstract »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)