@article{Alston:177036,
      recid = {177036},
      author = {Alston, Julian M. and Pardey, Philip G.},
      title = {Attribution and other problems in assessing the returns to  agricultural R&D},
      journal = {Agricultural Economics: The Journal of the International  Association of Agricultural Economists},
      address = {2001-09},
      number = {968-2016-75609},
      pages = {12},
      year = {2001},
      abstract = {Estimated rates of return to research are distorted by  problems of attributing the credit for particular research  results, or for
particular research-induced productivity  increases, among research expenditures undertaken at  different times, in different
places, and by different  agencies. A comprehensive assessment of the evidence from  past economic evaluations of the returns
to agricultural  R&D indicates that studies generally report high rates of  return, with enormous variation among studies, but
that  much of this evidence has been tainted by inadequate  attention to attribution problems. This paper raises these  concerns
in a general way and illustrates their importance  with reference to two particular types of attribution  problem. First, we
consider the problem of accounting for  locational spillovers in attributing varietal-improvement  technology among research
performers, using US wheat  varieties as an example. Second, we consider the temporal  aspects of the attribution problem
using the specification  of research lags in econometric models to illustrate the  problem of attributing aggregate productivity
gains to  research expenditures made at different times. © 2001  Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/177036},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.177036},
}