We use a large, rich dataset compiled from results of university extension trials to estimate the contribution of genetic modification (GM) to changes in corn yield in the United States from timeA to timeB. Through repeated experimental trials, we obtain consistent estimates of the effect of...

This paper evaluates one indirect impact of fertilizer policy, the nutritional gains due to increased food production. We look specifically at the case of Malawi’s Targeted Input Program and show that benefitting from the program during its entire duration could have led to gains substantial...

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regimes for plant breeding are generally justified on the basis that they encourage innovation. Introduction of IPR regimes for plant varieties in the United States has led to increased concentration, but it is less clear whether IPRs have promoted useful...

An argument in favor of the development of genetically modified (GM) hybrids is that their presence is considered to be risk decreasing. On this basis, insurance premiums for corn growers in the United States who plant approved hybrids have been reduced. In this study we investigate, using a...

"The deregulation of Ghana’s domestic cocoa supply chain that took place in the early 1990s was expected to bring competition among different private buyers and to generate a number of production incentives to the farmers. Most notably, it was expected that competition would emerge by...

Knowledge of the marginal productivity of water is crucial for decisions about its allocation between uses, which is particularly important in the context of increasing competition for water. Using primary, plot-level panel data, this article estimates the marginal productivity of water from...