Dynamics in the creation and depreciation of knowledge, and the returns to research

cg.coverage.countryIndiaen_US
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2INen_US
cg.coverage.regionSouthern Asiaen_US
cg.coverage.regionOceaniaen_US
cg.identifier.projectIFPRI - Archiveen_US
cg.number35en_US
cg.placeWashington, DCen_US
cg.reviewStatusInternal Reviewen_US
dc.contributor.authorAlston, Julian M.en_US
dc.contributor.authorCraig, Barbara J.en_US
dc.contributor.authorPardey, Philip G.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-11-21T09:54:13Zen_US
dc.date.available2024-11-21T09:54:13Zen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/161217en_US
dc.titleDynamics in the creation and depreciation of knowledge, and the returns to researchen_US
dcterms.abstractEconometric studies of the effects of research on productivity have typically imposed arbitrary restrictions on the length and shape of the R&D lag profile. These restrictions are likely to have biased up both the measured effects of R&D on productivity and the estimated rates of return to research. This paper argues that the useful stock of public knowledge depreciates, if at all, only gradually, and we use this notion to develop a new model, which we test using data on aggregate U.S. agriculture. We reject the conventional specification in favor of a more flexible, dynamic, alternative model, in which the impact of R&D on productivity lasts much longer than in previous studies. Consequently, the real, marginal rate of return to public agricultural R&D in the United States is estimated to be less than 10 percent per annum, much smaller than the typical rates of return reported in scores of previous studies, based on conceptually flawed and inappropriately restrictive dynamic specifications. We show that conventional approaches using the same data would have resulted in a much greater (biased) estimate of the rate of return to research.en_US
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Accessen_US
dcterms.bibliographicCitationAlston, Julian M.; Craig, Barbara J.; Pardey, Philip G. 1998. Dynamics in the creation and depreciation of knowledge, and the returns to research. EPTD Discussion Paper 35. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161217en_US
dcterms.extent48 p.en_US
dcterms.isPartOfEPTD Discussion Paperen_US
dcterms.issued1998en_US
dcterms.languageenen_US
dcterms.publisherInternational Food Policy Research Instituteen_US
dcterms.replaceshttps://ebrary.ifpri.org/digital/collection/p15738coll2/id/125676en_US
dcterms.subjecteconometricsen_US
dcterms.subjectinvestmenten_US
dcterms.typeWorking Paperen_US

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