Strategic Behavior and the Environment > Vol 5 > Issue 1

Spatial Efficiency of Genetically Modified and Non-Genetically Modified Crops

Stefan Ambec, Toulouse School of Economics (INRA LERNA IDEI) and Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, Corinne Langinier, University of Alberta, Canada, Corinne.Langinier@ualberta.ca , Philippe Marcoul, University of Alberta, Canada
 
Suggested Citation
Stefan Ambec, Corinne Langinier and Philippe Marcoul (2015), "Spatial Efficiency of Genetically Modified and Non-Genetically Modified Crops", Strategic Behavior and the Environment: Vol. 5: No. 1, pp 31-59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/102.00000054

Publication Date: 24 Jun 2015
© 2015 S. Ambec, C. Langinier and P. Marcoul
 
Subjects
Economic theory,  Environmental economics,  Collective action
 
Keywords
D62 (externalities)L11 (market structure)
Genetically modified cropsexternalityspatial localizationcoordination
 

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In this article:
1. Introduction 
2. The Model 
3. Coexistence Equilibrium 
4. Coordination Among Producers 
5. Conclusion and Future Research 
References 

Abstract

When GM (genetically modified) and non-GM crops coexist, not all of the latter can be sold as GM-free crops as some of them will likely be contaminated by GM crops. The choice of producing non-GM crops will consequently depend on the surrounding crops. We therefore analyze the spatial distribution of GM and non-GM crops. When producers follow individual strategies, many spatial configurations arise in equilibrium, some of which are more efficient than others. We examine how coordination among producers impacts the spatial distribution of crop varieties, and show that coordination among only a small number of producers can greatly improve efficiency. In particular, a non-GM producer neighboring two GM producers needs to coordinate with only one of them to eliminate any spatial inefficiency from variety choices.

DOI:10.1561/102.00000054