http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/9138 2015-11-17T09:50:52Z info:eu-repo/semantics/descriptiveMetadata http://oar.icrisat.org/9138/ The "Efficient Boundaries" of International Agricultural Research: A Conceptual Framework with Empirical Illustrations Kamanda, J Birner, R Bantilan, C Others Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics 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. 2015-08 Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://oar.icrisat.org/9138/1/Efficient%20Boundaries_%20of%20International%20Agricultural%20Research-687.pdf 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. info:eu-repo/semantics/objectFile info:eu-repo/semantics/humanStartPage