Working Papers 2002 – Abstracts
The Economic Incidence of R&D and Promotion Investments in the Australian
Beef Industry
X. Zhao, J.D. Mullen, G.R. Griffith, R.R. Piggott, and W.E. Griffiths
The issue of the relative returns to farmers from R&D and promotion is
examined using a multi-sectoral equilibrium displacement model of the
Australian beef industry. Total economic surplus changes and their distributions
among various industry groups resulting from 1% cost reductions in various
farm and off-farm sectors, and from 1% price premiums from domestic and
export market promotion, are estimated. The results are consistent with
previous studies in showing that in general, the share of total benefits
to farmers is larger from on-farm research than from most off-farm research,
and is larger from most types of research than from domestic promotion.
The share of total benefits to farmers is larger from export promotion
than from off-farm research, and from domestic promotion. The net returns
from the different cost-reduction or demand-enhancing scenarios depend
on the costs of achieving them.
Keywords: Economics of R&D, promotion, beef industry, equilibrium
displacement modelling.
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