bEcon—a web-based bibliography developed by researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)—is a selective collection of peer-reviewed applied economics literature that assesses the impacts of genetically engineered (GE) crops in developing countries. The webibliography focuses on four major research questions addressed in the literature:
- What are the (potential, actual) advantages of genetically engineered crops for farmers?
- What are consumers willing to pay for non-GE products, and how will their preferences affect the market?
- What are the magnitude and distribution of the economic benefits resulting from the adoption of GE crops in a particular industry (sector)?
- What is the international distribution of economic benefits resulting from the adoption and trade of GE crops?
bEcon includes papers that present new evidence related to these questions as well as papers that review relevant methods and findings (see Browse by Topic or Browse by Year). Papers are classified as methods papers if the author states an economic method and applies it to empirical data collected for the purpose of the study. The webibliography is updated on a regular basis as new publications become available. Submissions from authors and researchers are also welcome.
bEcon is one product of a project that seeks to develop and validate a "good practices" methodology for assessing the economic and social impact of genetically-engineered crop varieties in smallholder farming systems. The goal of this project is to provide national researchers with a tool kit to support policy decisions under Article 26 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, Convention on Biological Diversity. Another forthcoming product summarizes the literature in this website (M. Smale, P. Zambrano, G. Gručre, J. Falck-Zepeda, I. Matuschke, D. Horna, L. Nagarajan, I. Yerramareddy, and H. Jones. Measuring the impacts of transgenic crops in developing agriculture during the first decade: approaches, findings, and future directions.)
bEcon was produced in close collaboration with IFPRI's Communications Division and was funded in part by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the European Union. Special thanks are extended to Melinda Smale, Jose Falck-Zepeda, Guillaume Gruere, Latha Nagarajan, Uday Mohan, Gwendolyn Stansbury, Melanie Allen, Mulugeta Bayeh, and Amanda Segovia.