Economic Implications 1 59 



basis and has relied on personal impressions and evidence from 

 Western developed countries. Since most countries do not collect 

 and publish statistics relating to science, particularly to the agri- 

 cultural sciences, the picture presented in chapter 2 of the inter- 

 national agricultural research system cannot be complete and free 

 of errors. The general features are, however, clear, and the im- 

 provement of the data will not alter them substantially. The 

 developing countries invest very little in research, compared to 

 the amount invested by the developed countries. They not only 

 invest less, but as producers of knowledge they are less produc- 

 tive (at least in terms of publications). However, at the same 

 time — as the estimates of table 9.1 testify — the returns to 

 research conducted in the developing countries are high. It may 

 well be that if the effect of domestic agricultural research is not 

 easily observed in the developing world, it is not because farmers 

 in traditional settings are not willing to adopt the findings of the 

 research institutions, but because such findings have been rare 

 and slow to come, due to the small size of these systems. 



The success of the first stages of the adoption of the new Mex- 

 ican and IRRI wheat and rice varieties and the technologies 

 associated with their cultivation add support to the Schultzian hy- 

 pothesis that the major obstacle for development of traditional ag- 



#2. Computed from table 4.4. 



#3. Computed as with #2. 



#4. Computed from aggregate analysis reported in table 5.4. The elasticity of 

 output with respect to publications is taken as .046. The elasticity of publications 

 with respect to expenditures on scientists is taken as .4. A 10% increase in scien- 

 tific manpower costs 8.7c per $100 value of product in developed countries, 2.6c in 

 less developed countries. Estimated marginal benefits are 18.4c per $100 value of 

 product. 



#5. Computed as in #4. The elasticity of agricultural publications with respect 

 to agriculturally related science in taken as .4. The costs of a 10% increase in scien- 

 tific publications is taken to be .7 X 8.7 cents in developed countries and .44 X 2.6 

 cents in less developed countries. Based on the ratio of publications in plant 

 physiology, soil science, and phytopathology to applied agricultural publications in 

 table 2.3. 



#6. Based on table 6.6 in chapter 6. 



#7. Based on table 6.6 in chapter 6. 



#8. Based on table 6.8. A four-year time-lag is assumed. 



