64 



Agricullural Research and Prodiicilviiy 



vary with the area. This is not always a very good assumption. The 

 United States and Soviet Russia lead the world in terms of the 

 total number of publications. Employing this deflator, they 

 become relatively small producers of knowledge. Clearly, some 

 countries have varied production conditions with small areas, 

 while others have huge homogeneous areas.^ 



Borrowed share 

 of regional stock 



l/(l+a) 



Time 



Figure 4.2: The Logistic Borrowing Function 



Neglecting diversification of production conditions within the 

 region, the number of regions represented in a country can also 



6. Lacking data on extension and other instruments of information dissemina- 

 tion or, alternatively, on the number of wheat- or maize-growers, the area defla- 

 tors serve also as a proxy for the easiness (or, rather, the difficulty) with which 

 knowledge is spread over the countryside. 



