[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/afbmau/122896.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Public investment in agricultural research and development in Australia remains a sensible policy option

Author

Listed:
  • Mullen, John D.
Abstract
There is evidence that productivity in Australia’s broadacre agriculture (extensive cropping and livestock industries) has been slowing in the past decade. A series of poor seasons has been partly responsible, but an econometric analysis of structural changes in the trend of total factor productivity (TFP) indicates that stagnant public investment in agricultural R&D has also made a significant contribution to this slowdown in TFP. Related econometric analysis of the returns to public investment in agricultural R&D in the broadacre sector confirms that the rate of return to investment remains high. Despite these findings, a recent enquiry by Australia’s Productivity Commission into the financing of rural research suggests that the public sector may be ‘crowding out’ private sector investment in agricultural R&D and recommends a reduction in public support. In this paper I briefly review the econometric analyses to date and the trends in TFP and public R&D investment. While I have not been able to conclusively test the ‘crowding out’ hypothesis, there seems to be little empirical evidence to prefer this hypothesis to a more traditional ‘market failure’ hypothesis. Clearly, stakeholders in agricultural R&D in Australia have to do a better job in communicating the case for public investment in agricultural R&D. Other developed countries are experiencing the same phenomenon and it may become an issue in the future for developing countries in Asia.

Suggested Citation

  • Mullen, John D., 2012. "Public investment in agricultural research and development in Australia remains a sensible policy option," AFBM Journal, Australasian Farm Business Management Network, vol. 8(2), pages 1-11, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:afbmau:122896
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.122896
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/122896/files/Mullen01.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.122896?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Christopher J. O'Donnell, 2010. "Measuring and decomposing agricultural productivity and profitability change ," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 54(4), pages 527-560, October.
    2. Mullen, John D., 2007. "Productivity Growth and the Returns from Public Investment in R&D in Australian Broadacre Agriculture," 2007 Conference (51st), February 13-16, 2007, Queenstown, New Zealand 9451, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    3. Alston, Julian M. & Wyatt, T. J. & Pardey, Philip G. & Marra, Michele C. & Chan-Kang, Connie, 2000. "A meta-analysis of rates of return to agricultural R & D: ex pede Herculem?," Research reports 113, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Commission, Productivity, 2011. "Rural Research and Development Corporations," Inquiry Reports, Productivity Commission, Government of Australia, number 52.
    5. Sheng, Yu & Gray, Emily M. & Mullen, John D., 2011. "Public investment in R&D and extension and productivity in Australian broadacre agriculture," 2011 Conference (55th), February 8-11, 2011, Melbourne, Australia 100712, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    6. Productivity Commission, 2007. "Public Support for Science and Innovation," Research Reports, Productivity Commission, Government of Australia, number 24.
    7. Hughes, Neal & Lawson, Kenton & Davidson, Alistair & Jackson, Tom & Sheng, Yu, 2011. "Productivity pathways: climate-adjusted production frontiers for the Australian broadacre cropping industry," 2011 Conference (55th), February 8-11, 2011, Melbourne, Australia 100563, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    8. John Mullen, 2007. "Productivity growth and the returns from public investment in R&D in Australian broadacre agriculture," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 51(4), pages 359-384, December.
    9. Unknown, 2004. "Evaluations In 2003 Of Five Areas Of Investment In R&D By Nsw Agriculture: Summary," Research Reports 28002, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries Research Economists.
    10. Sheng, Yu & Mullen, John D. & Zhao, Shiji, 2010. "Has growth in productivity in Australian broadacre agriculture slowed?," 2010 Conference (54th), February 10-12, 2010, Adelaide, Australia 59266, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mullen, John & Keogh, Mick, 2013. "The Future Productivity and Competitiveness Challenge for Australian Agriculture," 2013 Conference (57th), February 5-8, 2013, Sydney, Australia 152170, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    2. Nazrul Islam & Vilaphonh Xayavong & Ross Kingwell, 2014. "Broadacre farm productivity and profitability in south-western Australia," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 58(2), pages 147-170, April.
    3. Sheng, Yu & Gray, Emily M. & Mullen, John D., 2011. "Public investment in R&D and extension and productivity in Australian broadacre agriculture," 2011 Conference (55th), February 8-11, 2011, Melbourne, Australia 100712, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    4. Kingwell, Ross, 2018. "The Rationale for Taxpayer Support for Primary Industry Research and Innovation in Western Australia," Working Papers 274837, University of Western Australia, School of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    5. Mullen, John D., 2010. "Trends in investment in agricultural R&D in Australia and its potential contribution to productivity," Australasian Agribusiness Review, University of Melbourne, Department of Agriculture and Food Systems, vol. 18, pages 1-12.
    6. Ollerenshaw, Alison & Murphy, Angela & Walters, Judi & Robinson, Nathan & Thompson, Helen, 2023. "Use of digital technology for research data and information transfer within the Australian grains sector: A case study using Online Farm Trials," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    7. Bervejillo, Jose E. & Alston, Julian M. & Tumber, Kabir P., 2012. "The benefits from public agricultural research in Uruguay," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 56(4), pages 1-23, December.
    8. Michee Arnold Lachaud & Boris E. Bravo-Ureta & Carlos E. Ludena, 2017. "Agricultural productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean in the presence of unobserved heterogeneity and climatic effects," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 445-460, August.
    9. Hunt, Warren & Birch, Colin & Vanclay, Frank & Coutts, Jeff, 2014. "Recommendations arising from an analysis of changes to the Australian agricultural research, development and extension system," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 129-141.
    10. Sun, Ling & Ball, V. Eldon & Fulginiti, Lilyan E. & Plastina, Alejandro S., 2009. "Impact of local public goods on agricultural productivity growth in the U.S," 2009 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, 2009, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 49333, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. David Colman, 2010. "Agriculture's terms of trade: issues and implications," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 41(s1), pages 1-15, November.
    12. Sheng, Yu & Xu, Xinpeng, 2019. "The productivity impact of climate change: Evidence from Australia's Millennium drought," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 182-191.
    13. Kutschukian, Jean-Marc, 2008. "A Framework For The Economic Evaluation Of Environmental Science," 2008 Conference (52nd), February 5-8, 2008, Canberra, Australia 6026, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    14. Ruhul A. Salim & Nazrul Islam, 2010. "Exploring the impact of R&D and climate change on agricultural productivity growth: the case of Western Australia ," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 54(4), pages 561-582, October.
    15. Bryce Stewart & Terrence Veeman & James Unterschultz, 2009. "Crops and Livestock Productivity Growth in the Prairies: The Impacts of Technical Change and Scale," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 57(3), pages 379-394, September.
    16. Wittwer, Glyn & Banerjee, Onil, 2015. "Investing in irrigation development in North West Queensland, Australia," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 59(2), April.
    17. Stéphane Lemarié & Valérie Orozco & Jean-Pierre Butault & Antonio Musolesi & Michel Simioni & Bertrand Schmitt, 2020. "Assessing the long-term impact of agricultural research on productivity: evidence from France," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 47(4), pages 1559-1586.
    18. Todd Sanderson & Fredoun Z. Ahmadi‐Esfahani, 2009. "Testing Comparative Advantage in Australian Broadacre Agriculture Under Climate Change: Theoretical and Empirical Models," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 28(4), pages 346-354, December.
    19. Tozer, Peter R. & Villano, Renato, 2013. "Decomposing Productivity and Efficiency among Western Australian Grain Producers," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 38(3), pages 1-15.
    20. Merihun Fikru Meja & Bamlaku Alamirew Alemu & Maru Shete, 2021. "Total Factor Productivity of Major Crops in Southern Ethiopia: A Dis-Aggregated Analysis of the Growth Components," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-14, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Farm Management;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:afbmau:122896. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/afbmnea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.