%0 Conference Paper
%A Kamanda, J
%A Birner, R
%A Bantilan, C
%B International Association of Agricultural Economists
%C Milan, Italy
%D 2015
%F icrisat:9138
%K CGIAR, Agricultural innovation, Comparative advantage, Research spillovers, Transaction costs
%P 01-39
%T The "Efficient Boundaries" of International Agricultural Research: A Conceptual Framework with Empirical Illustrations
%U http://oar.icrisat.org/9138/
%X 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.