relation: http://oar.icrisat.org/9138/
title: The "Efficient Boundaries" of International Agricultural Research: A Conceptual Framework with Empirical Illustrations
creator: Kamanda, J
creator: Birner, R
creator: Bantilan, C
subject: Others
subject: Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
description: The role of international agricultural research centers (IARCs) has long been a  subject of discussion, often with emphasis that they should conduct research that  produces international public goods (IPGs). However, centers still face a dilemma on  how to balance between IPGs and location-specific work. This paper contributes to  the development of principles by which they should position themselves. Transaction  cost economics was applied to develop a framework, which is then illustrated with an  empirical case study of legume research at the International Crops Research Institute  for the Semi-Arid Tropics. A participatory mapping technique (Net-Map) was  combined with key informant interviews in India, Malawi and Ethiopia. We find that  IARCS play an important role in germplasm improvement, the field in which they  have a comparative advantage. However, due to insufficient capacity of national  systems, they also engage in downstream activities. This reduces incentives for  governments and donors to overcome governance challenges.
date: 2015-08
type: Conference or Workshop Item
type: PeerReviewed
format: application/pdf
language: en
identifier: http://oar.icrisat.org/9138/1/Efficient%20Boundaries_%20of%20International%20Agricultural%20Research-687.pdf
identifier:   Kamanda, J and Birner, R and Bantilan, C  (2015) The "Efficient Boundaries" of International Agricultural Research: A Conceptual Framework with Empirical Illustrations.  In: International Association of Agricultural Economists, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy.