The economics of biotechnology under ecosystem disruption

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelForschungPeer-Review

Autoren

  • Diemuth E. Pemsl
  • Andrew P. Gutierrez
  • Hermann Waibel

Externe Organisationen

  • WorldFish
  • University of California at Berkeley
Forschungs-netzwerk anzeigen

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Seiten (von - bis)177-183
Seitenumfang7
FachzeitschriftEcological economics
Jahrgang66
Ausgabenummer1
Frühes Online-Datum3 Okt. 2007
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 15 Mai 2008

Abstract

Economic analysis of chemical pesticide use has shown that the interactions between plants, pests, damage control technology and state of the ecosystem are important variables to be considered. Hence, a bio-economic model was developed for the assessment of Bt variety and pesticide-based control strategies of the cotton-bollworm in China. The model simulates plant growth, the dynamics of pest populations and of natural enemies. The model predictions are used as major inputs for a stochastic micro-level profit model of alternative control strategies. Results show that: (1) productivity effects of Bt varieties and pesticide use depend on the action of natural control agents, and (2) the profitability of damage control measures increases with the severity of ecosystem disruption. The findings highlight the importance of the choice of the counterfactual scenario in the assessment of the impact of agricultural biotechnology. Also, some doubts are raised whether the high benefits of Bt cotton varieties claimed by previous studies based on cross section comparisons are realistic.

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

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The economics of biotechnology under ecosystem disruption. / Pemsl, Diemuth E.; Gutierrez, Andrew P.; Waibel, Hermann.
in: Ecological economics, Jahrgang 66, Nr. 1, 15.05.2008, S. 177-183.

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelForschungPeer-Review

Pemsl DE, Gutierrez AP, Waibel H. The economics of biotechnology under ecosystem disruption. Ecological economics. 2008 Mai 15;66(1):177-183. Epub 2007 Okt 3. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.08.022
Pemsl, Diemuth E. ; Gutierrez, Andrew P. ; Waibel, Hermann. / The economics of biotechnology under ecosystem disruption. in: Ecological economics. 2008 ; Jahrgang 66, Nr. 1. S. 177-183.
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