Title:

Agricultural Biotechnology's Complementary Intellectual Assets

Author(s):

Graff, Gregory D.
Rausser, Gordon C.
Small, Arthur A.

Date:

2001

Type:

Working papers

Department:

Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy

Permanent URL:

http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:9719

Series:

ISERP Working Papers

Part Number:

02-08

Publisher:

Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, Columbia University

Publisher Location:

New York

Abstract:

We formulate and test a hypothesis to explain the dramatic restructuring experienced recently by the plant breeding and seed industry. The reorganization can be explained in part by the desire to exploit complementarities between intellectual assets needed to create genetically modified organisms. This hypothesis is tested using data on agricultural biotechnology patents, notices for field tests of genetically modified organisms, and firm characteristics. The presence of complementarities is identified with a positive covariance in the unexplained variation of asset holdings. Results indicate that coordination of complementary assets have increased under the consolidation of the industry.

Subject(s):

Plant sciences
Economics

Item views:

254

Metadata:

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