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Evaluating Returns to Agricultural Research: A Review
Author(s) -
Norton George W.,
Davis Jeffrey S.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.2307/1241211
Subject(s) - rate of return , ex ante , investment (military) , rank (graph theory) , return on investment , economics , econometrics , agriculture , production (economics) , function (biology) , operations research , microeconomics , mathematics , finance , geography , archaeology , combinatorics , politics , political science , law , macroeconomics , evolutionary biology , biology
This paper reviews and compares the most common approaches used to evaluate public agricultural research investment. Ex post studies fall into two major groups: ( a ) consumer and producer surplus analyses, estimating average rates of return to research, and ( b ) production function analyses, estimating marginal rates of return to research. Ex ante studies fall into four groups: ( a ) those using scoring models to rank research activities, ( b ) those employing benefit‐cost analysis to establish rates of return to research, ( c ) those using simulation models, and ( d ) those using mathematical programming to select an optimal mix of research activities.