Agricultural Biotechnology
Introduction
The CIES began in early 2000 to undertake trade-related research
on the economics of agricultural biotechnologies, particularly genetically
modified organisms.
The new agricultural biotechnologies that are generating transgenic
or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are attracting an exceptionally
large degree of opposition to their production and trade. Environmental,
ethical and food safety concerns have been raised by opponents to
the development of transgenic crops. The vast majority of opponents
want at least to have labels on products that may contain GMOs,
while the most extreme of them (particularly in Western Europe)
want to see GM crops totally excluded from production and consumption
in their country. This extreme view contrasts with the more relaxed
attitude towards the use of GMOs in pharmaceuticals, and swamps
discussions of the positive attributes of the new technology. Also
associated with that view is the idea that we should not try to
measure the economic and other effects of GMOs because there is
too much uncertainty surrounding the technology. We beg to differ
with the latter sentiment, believing that without attempts to quantify
the economic effects of GMOs, opinion formation and policy making
would be even less well informed because it would have to depend
even more on guesswork.
To illustrate the usefulness of quantitative models for informing
GMO debates, the papers listed below draw on recent studies by CIES
associates and co-authors that use existing empirical models of
the global economy to examine what the effects of widespread adoption
of genetically modified crop varieties in some (non-European) countries
might be in light of different policy and consumer preference responses
in Europe and elsewhere. The analyses so far have focused on GMO
rice, cotton, maize and soybean.
The Program Co-ordinator is Professor
Kym Anderson. (Prof Anderson is currently on leave to the World
Bank.)
Comments about the program are welcome, as are possibilities for
research collaboration. Please contact kanderson@worldbank.org
Program Publications
Links
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