Valuing Product Innovation: Genetically Engineered Varieties in U.S. Corn and Soybeans
63 Pages Posted: 20 Dec 2017 Last revised: 2 Jun 2019
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Valuing Product Innovation: Genetically Engineered Varieties in U.S. Corn and Soybeans
Valuing Product Innovation: Genetically Engineered Varieties in U.S. Corn and Soybeans
Date Written: December 21, 2018
Abstract
We develop a discrete-choice model of differentiated products for U.S. corn and soybean seed demand to study the welfare impact of genetically engineered (GE) crop varieties. Using a unique dataset spanning the period 1996-2011, we find that the welfare impact of the GE innovation is significant. In the last five years of the period analyzed, our preferred counterfactual indicates that total surplus due to GE traits was $5.18 billion per year, with seed manufacturers appropriating 56% of this surplus. The seed industry obtained more surplus from GE corn, whereas farmers received more surplus from GE soybeans.
Keywords: Discrete choice, Innovation, Nested logit, Product characteristics, Seed demand, Transgenic crops, Welfare
JEL Classification: L11, L13, O13, Q12
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation