RESHAPING THE CONVENTIONAL WELFARE ECONOMICS FRAMEWORK FOR ESTIMATING THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Some of the crucial assumptions of applied welfare economics do not hold any longer in the case of agricultural biotechnology innovations. We review some modifications to the conventional methodologies measuring the size and distribution of agricultural research benefits, which are critical for the assessment of the economic impact of agricultural biotechnology in the European Union. While some modifications are related to the specific features of modern agricultural biotechnology and technology adoption, others are related to the specific institutional settings of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy and commodity markets.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Editor’s introduction. the future of agricultural biotechnology: creative destruction, adoption, or irrelevance?–in honor of Prof. Vittorio Santaniello.

With the death of Prof. Vittorio Santaniello in the summer of 2007, the International Consortium for Agricultural Biotechnology Research (ICABR) lost one of its most enthusiastic founders and most important contributors. This special issue celebrates Prof. Santaniello’s commitment to the establishment of an independent forum of discussion for agricultural biotechnology issues by collecting high-quality, peerreviewed scientific contributions to the ICABR Conference held June 12-14, 2008 in Ravello, Italy. The conference theme, The Future of Agricultural Biotechnology: Creative Destruction, Adoption, or Irrelevance? in Honor of Vittorio Santaniello, was an invitation to look at the current status of scientific knowledge in agricultural biotechnology and to the new challenges ahead. Participants from around the world found their way to the Amalfi Coast to present their contributions and begin to pave the road ahead. Their efforts were framed by seven excellent plenary sessions.biotechnology; research & development; economic growth

Knowledge Capital, Intangible Assets, and Leverage: Evidence from U.S. Agricultural Biotechnology Firms

Agricultural biotechnology firms are high technology companies. Firms in general, and high technology firms in particular, are a set of both assets in place and growth opportunities. This has important implications for managerial decision-making. Knowledge capital motivates exploitation of growth options, which affects firm cash flow. In turn, the level and volatility of firm cash flow influences firm financing decisions. Previous studies suggest that knowledge capital can influence both the location and capital structure of firms in the biotechnology industry. However, empirical analysis has not extended to agricultural biotechnology firms. This research helps in understanding the role of knowledge capital and other intangible assets in capital structure decisions of U.S. agricultural biotechnology firms. Quantitative results indicate that leverage is negatively related to growth and nondebt tax shields. Asset tangibility, size, profitability, and uniqueness are positively related to leverage. Using various characterizations of leverage, our models explain up to approximately 75% of the variation in leverage. Empirically generated elasticities buttress the importance of intangible assets such as knowledge capital and tax shields in capital structure choice. This analysis adds a significant new component to understanding the financing decisions of agricultural biotechnology firms.Capital structure, Agricultural biotechnology, Knowledge capital, Intangible assets, Agribusiness,

CONCENTRATION AND TECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURAL INPUT INDUSTRIES

Consolidation in the agricultural biotechnology industry can both enhance and dampen market competition. This report examines the causes and consequences of industry consolidation and its effect on market efficiency. In some cases, concentration realizes economies of scale, which can improve market efficiency by driving down production costs. The protection of intellectual property rights is integral to the agricultural biotechnology marketplace, stimulating research and development, investment, and the development of substitute markets. However, excessively broad intellectual property rights can hinder the market for innovation. Recent data on mergers, acquisitions, and strategic collaborations in the agricultural biotechnology industry, as well as the emergence of "life science" conglomerates, indicate some level of consolidation. However, the move by some companies to divest their seed operations calls into question the long-term viability of these conglomerates.industry concentration, consolidation, biotechnology, market efficiency, market power, intellectual property rights, agricultural input industries, mergers, acquisitions, Agribusiness, Industrial Organization,

Regulating Environmental and Safety Hazards of Agricultural Biotechnology for a Sustainable World

This essay first presents an overview of key legal principles that support sustainability. This essay then reviews the major alleged risks of agricultural biotechnology. It then describes the existing U.S. and European agricultural biotechnology regulatory system designed to control those risks. Next, this essay analyzes the existing U.S. regulatory system using sustainability principles. In the course of that analysis, this essay considers lessons to be derived from three case studies: the permitting of Starlink™ corn, the discovery of Mexican maize containing genetically engineered corn genes, and the possible permitting of transgenic salmon for ocean fish farming. This essay also considers lessons from the broader regulatory history of pest-protected plants. Based on the analysis of sustainability issues related to agricultural biotechnology, this essay concludes that despite the obvious, substantial benefits that agricultural biotechnology can confer on society, the United States needs to improve its regulatory process to ensure a proper weighing of the full social benefits and costs of agricultural biotechnology and to clarify liability rules governing the use of agricultural biotechnology. These reforms should provide both better public protection and increased public support for the agricultural biotechnology industry

Strategic environmental assessment: assessing the environmental impact of biotechnology

Poverty reduction, Agricultural research, Environmental protection, Genetically modified organisms, Crops, Agricultural biotechnology Research, Investments, Strategic Environmental Assessment,

Regulating Environmental and Safety Hazards of Agricultural Biotechnology for a Sustainable World

This Essay first presents an overview of key legal principles that support sustainability. This Essay then reviews the major alleged risks of agricultural biotechnology. It then describes the existing U.S. and European agricultural biotechnology regulatory system designed to control those risks. Next, this Essay analyzes the existing U.S. regulatory system using sustainability principles. In the course of that analysis, this Essay considers lessons to be derived from three case studies: the permitting of Starlink™ corn, the discovery of Mexican maize containing genetically engineered corn genes, and the possible permitting of transgenic salmon for ocean fish farming. This Essay also considers lessons from the broader regulatory history of pest-protected plants. Based on the analysis of sustainability issues related to agricultural biotechnology, this Essay concludes that despite the obvious, substantial benefits that agricultural biotechnology can confer on society, the United States needs to improve its regulatory process to ensure a proper weighing of the full social benefits and costs of agricultural biotechnology and to clarify liability rules governing the use of agricultural biotechnology. These reforms should provide both better public protection and increased public support for the agricultural biotechnology industry

Commercializing agricultural biotechnology

15 years of successful research without a single person in the U.S. getting ill from the products of biotechnology prove a safety record unmatched by any other industry. People have to put this safety record into perspective. The reason we are doing field trials is to learn and to generate data that allows us to move forward without about an unforeseen problem developing