U.S. Universitiesï¾’ Net Returns from Patenting and Licensing: A Quantile Regression Analysis

In line with the rights and incentives provided by the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, U.S. universities have increased their involvement in patenting and licensing activities through their own technology transfer offices. Only a few U.S. universities are obtaining large returns, however, whereas others are continuing with these activities despite negligible or negative returns. We assess the U.S. universitiesï¾’ potential to generate returns from licensing activities by modeling and estimating quantiles of the distribution of net licensing returns conditional on some of their structural characteristics. We find limited prospects for public universities without a medical school everywhere in their distribution. Other groups of universities (private, and public with a medical school) can expect significant but still fairly modest returns only beyond the 0.9th quantile. These findings call into question the appropriateness of the revenue-generating motive for the aggressive rate of patenting and licensing by U.S. universities.

Meat Slaughter and Processing Plants' Traceability Levels: Evidence from Iowa

Based on an econometric analysis of the data obtained from a survey of meat plants (n=53 ) in Iowa in summer 2007, this paper identifies the factors impacting the meat plants’ voluntary adoption of forward and backward traceability activities. The results suggest that the ownership type (corporate versus independent) and operations type (slaughtering versus not) matter rather than the size and meat type produced (beef, pork, or poultry) as suggested in the previous surveys. Furthermore, food safety activities appear to be complementary to traceability activities. The findings may assist ongoing regulatory efforts in implementing traceability in U.S. in the near future.country of origin labeling; food safety; multiple imputation method; national animal identification system; ordered logistic regression; quality assurances; traceability

CROP INSURANCE AND THE FUTURE FARM SAFETY NET

Crop Insurance, Farm bill, Farm Programs, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q18,

The Value of Third-Party Certification of Preconditioning Claims at Iowa Feeder Cattle Auctions

After controlling a variety of feeder cattle characteristics and market and sale conditions, we estimate the price premiums for preconditioning (vaccinations and minimum 30 days weaning) claims with and without third-party certification (TPC) as $6.15/cwt and$3.40/cwt, respectively, in Iowa feeder cattle auctions. These premiums differ statistically (p-value less than 0.0001) and their difference exceeds the additional participation cost of TPC ($1/cwt) on average. This indicates that the third party certification is valued in the market to credibly signal preconditioning investment under asymmetric information.

The Value of Information Provision at Iowa Feeder Cattle Auctions

Controlling a variety of feeder cattle characteristics, and market and sale conditions, we estimate that certified vaccinations claims along with at least 30 days weaning claims bring in a premium of $6.13/cwt, which is nearly two times of that for similar uncertified claims, compared to no vaccinations and weaning claims at all in Iowa feeder cattle auctions. This indicates that the third-party certification is supported in the market as a tool to signal quality in terms of vaccinations and weaning claims towards preconditioning.Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

Meat Slaughter and Processing Plants’ Traceability Levels Evidence From Iowa

In the United States (U.S.), there is no uniform traceability regulation across food sector. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented one-step back and one-step forward traceability over the industries under its jurisdiction. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees meat, poultry and egg production, requires some record keeping as part of food safety regulation. Particularly, a two-part-system has developed; live animal traceability and meat traceability with slaughter and processing plants in between. This paper studies the question of whether (and if so how) meat plants’ traceability levels vary with respect to the following factors; product specific (credence versus experience and search attributes, branded versus commodity meat, being exporter), organizational (spot market versus contracting), food safety related, and plant specific (a quality assurance system in place, number of sources, size, capital-labor ratio, etc.).traceability, food safety, quality assurances, animal ID, RFID,

On the Segregation of Genetically Modified, Conventional, and Organic Products in European Agriculture: A Multi-Market Equilibrium Analysis

Evaluating the possible benefits of the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops must address the issue of consumer resistance as well as the complex regulation that has ensued. In the European Union (EU), this regulation envisions the co-existence of GM food with conventional and quality-enhanced products, mandates the labelling and traceability of GM products and allows only a stringent adventitious presence of GM content in other products. All these elements are brought together within a partial equilibrium model of the EU agricultural food sector. The model comprises conventional, GM and organic food. Demand is modelled in a novel fashion, whereby organic and conventional products are treated as horizontally differentiated but GM products are vertically differentiated (weakly inferior) relative to conventional ones. Supply accounts explicitly for the land constraint at the sector level and for the need for additional resources to produce organic food. Model calibration and simulation allow insights into the qualitative and quantitative effects of the large-scale introduction of GM products in the EU market. We find that the introduction of GM food reduces overall EU welfare, mostly because of the associated need for costly segregation of non-GM products, but the producers of quality-enhanced products actually benefit.

Parallel Research, Multiple Intellectual Property Right Protection Instruments, and the Correlation among R&D Projects

The choice of a research path in attacking scientific and technological problems is a significant component of firms\u27 R&D strategy. One of the findings of the patent races literature is that, in a competitive market setting, firms\u27 noncooperative choices of research projects display an excessive degree of correlation, as compared to the socially optimal level. The paper revisits this question in a context in which firms have access to trade secrets, in addition to patents, to assert intellectual property rights (IPR) over their discoveries. We find that the availability of multiple IPR protection instruments can move the paths chosen by firms engaged in an R&D race toward the social optimum

Optimal Coverage Level Choice with Individual and Area Plans of Insurance

We theoretically examine a farmer’s coverage demand with area and individual insurance plans as either separate or integrated options. The individual and area losses are assumed to be imperfectly and positively correlated. With actuarially fair rates, the farmer will fully insure with the individual plan and demand no area insurance regardless of the plans being separate or integrated. Under separate plans, free area insurance and the fair rate for individual insurance, area insurance replaces a portion of individual insurance demand. Under integrated plans, free area insurance, and the fair rate for individual insurance, the farmer will over-insure with individual plan and demand additional area insurance.Agricultural risk, area plans of insurance, crop insurance, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Industrial Organization, Marketing, Production Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, D81, G22, Q12, Q18,