Overview
My research has concentrated on the inter-related issues of agricultural R&D, technological change, efficiency and productivity growth, in developed countries, such as the USA the UK and the EU, in developing countries, including Bangladesh, Botswana, India, Nepal, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa and in transitional economies (Slovenia and Hungary). The work on R&D includes studying research systems, research resource allocation, privatisation the role of the private sector in R&D and the returns to agricultural R&D expenditures. The work on technological change covers the efficiency of new varieties, from the green revolution to GM crops, biodiversity, the economics of the terminator gene and induced innovation. Other work on efficiency has considered nitrate pollution in the UK, energy substitution in Hungary, land reform in Zimbabwe and the structural transformation in the transitional economies. Measures of total factor productivity growth were first developed for the UK, South Africa, Botswana and South Africa, Slovenia and Hungary. These have now been extended to cover all of Africa and Asia and have been applied to study convergence. The latest work for DFID covers the whole range, from R&D to productivity growth and then shows the effects on poverty alleviation. Current work on GM crops is focused on Bt cotton and both Bt and herbicide tolerant white maize in KwaZulu Natal.
Current Projects
ESRC/DfID Factor Endowments, Biased Technological Change, Wages and Poverty Reduction: Can Genetically Modified Crops Bring a Green Revolutio to Africa?
National Agricultural Marketing Council, Pretoria The Impact of Deregulation on Agricultural Productivity and Efficiency
Recent Projects
Have been funded by the ESRC, DfID, DEFRA, the Rockerfeller Foundation and Monsanto
Collaborators
Dr David Hadley, University of East Anglia, Farm level efficiency in the UK
Dr Beatrice Conradie, University of Cape Town, Labour and grape production in the Western Cape
Thulasizwe Mkhabela, University of Stellenbosch, Plollution from dairying in KwaZulu Natal
Professor Johann Kirsten, University of Pretoria, GM crops in South Africa
Marnus Gouse, University of Pretoria, GM crops in South Africa
Professor Nick Vink, University of Stellenbosch, Dairying in KwaZulu Natal
Professor Jenifer Piesse, King's College London, The Impact of Research Led Agricultural Productivity Growth on Poverty Reduction in Africa, Asia and
Dr C S Srinivasan, University of Reading, Intellectual Property Rights in Agriculture
Professor Nigel Bell, Imperail College London, Impact of low level ozone pollution on UK field crops
Dr David Schimmelpfennig, United States Department of Agriculture, Panel data analysis of US field crops
Professor Stephen Glaister, Imperial College, Road accidents and deprived areas
Dr Eldon Ball, USDA, International agricultural competitiveness
Research Staff
Research Student Supervision
Cookson,G, An Economic Analysis of Road Transport Congestion and Policy Solutions
Kaliakatsou,E, Impact of Ozone Pollution on UK Crop Yields
Koc,V, An Economic Analysis of Clean Energy
Saraiva,J, Implications of Water Environmental Policy for Irrigated Agriculture in Portugal