| This paper examines the linkages between the system that society uses to incentivize R&D by private innovators in the area of crop improvement on the one hand and the environment on the other. This examination is an important addition to the technology-assessment exercise conducted in the context of transgenic crops since it focuses on the organization of the R&D process rather than on the outputs. The paper first demonstrates that design choices with respect to the system of rewards under which crop improvement is carried out determine important characteristics of R&D outputs. In particular, it shows that choosing a patent-style system of intellectual property rights (IPR) will impact on the rate, direction, pace and mode of technological... |
