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Planned Obsolescence and Plant Breeding: Empirical Evidence from Wheat Breeding in the UK (1965-1995)

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  • Rangnekar, Dwijen

    (University College London)

Abstract

Models predict that oligopolists producing a durable good have an incentive to reduce the durability of the good as a means to appropriate the returns to investments in R&D. Using these theoretical insights, the paper empirically examines these strategies of appropriation in wheat breeding. Breeders face a unique appropriation problem because plant varieties (a durable good) demonstrate easy reproducibility and heritability of characteristics. In addition, the available legal scope of protection, till recent revisions, has tended to provide limited protection compared to protection available in other sectors. Strategies of planned obsolescence are indicated in the effort to reduce the durability of plant varieties so as to induce regular replacement purchases by farmers. Empirical evidence of the strategy is provided in decreasing tendency of the market-weighted age of varieties, which falls from 13 years in the 1960s to 5 years in the 1990s. In addition, the paper reports evidence of a lax approach towards developing broad-based disease resistance, which can be interpreted as a means to support the strategy of planned obsolescence.

Suggested Citation

  • Rangnekar, Dwijen, 2000. "Planned Obsolescence and Plant Breeding: Empirical Evidence from Wheat Breeding in the UK (1965-1995)," Economics Discussion Papers 2000-8, School of Economics, Kingston University London.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:kngedp:2000_008
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Rangnekar, Dwijen, 2000. "Plant breeding, biodiversity loss and intellectual property rights," Economics Discussion Papers 2000-5, School of Economics, Kingston University London.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Planned Obsolescence; Innovation; Plant Breeding;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • Q10 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - General

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