Agricultural Biotechnology's Complementary Intellectual Assets

Graff, Gregory D.; Rausser, Gordon C.; Small, Arthur A.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.280107

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Agricultural Biotechnology's Complementary Intellectual Assets

36 Pages Posted: 16 Aug 2001

See all articles by Gregory D. Graff

Gordon C. Rausser

University of California, Berkeley - Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics

Arthur A. Small

Arthur A. Small; affiliation not provided to SSRN

There are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: August 2001

Abstract

We formulate and test a hypothesis for the dramatic restructuring that the plant breeding and seed industry has recently undergone: the reorganization can be explained in part by the desire to exploit complementarities between intellectual assets needed to create genetically modified organisms. This hypothesis is tested using data on agricultural biotechnology patents, notices for field tests of genetically modified organisms, and firm characteristics. The presence of complementarities is identified with a positive covariance in the unexplained variation of asset holdings. Results indicate that coordination of complementary assets have increased under the consolidation of the industry.

Keywords: agricultural biotechnology, innovation, patents, complementarities, mergers and acquisitions, industrial organization, market structure, markets vs. hierarchies, technology markets

JEL Classification: O32, Q16, L22

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Graff, Gregory D. and Rausser, Gordon C. and Small, Arthur A. and Small, Arthur A., Agricultural Biotechnology's Complementary Intellectual Assets (August 2001). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=280107 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.280107