The Agricultural Knowledge Production Function: An Empirical Look

Abstract

The research input-output relationship is quantified by use of a unique panel data set of research expenditures (1963-75) and aggregate publication output (1970-75) for each of the 48 contiguous U.S. state agricultural experiment station. Year-to-year fluctuations in research expenditures showed little systematic influence on research output, while on-average or longer-run differences in research expenditures between states appear to influence research performance in a fairly systematic manner. Using citation performance to adjust publication output for differences in scientific quality increases the research expenditure output elasticity by around 25 percent, while also increasing the mean agricultural research gestation lag from 2.8 to 3.4 years. Residual state-specific effects, measuring relative research efficiencies, do not appear to be correlated with levels of research expenditures. Copyright 1989 by MIT Press.

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