Research Prizes: A Mechanism to Reward Agricultural Innovation in Low-Income Regions

Abstract

This paper identifies market failures that limit biotechnology research for farmers in low-income regions and proposes a system of cash prizes to reward the dissemination of successful innovations. The prize authority would specify a target region(e.g., Sub-Saharan Africa) and offer to pay a fixed proportion(e.g., 20%) of the estimated social value of any innovation, computed using standard procedures, to buy out the innovation into the public domain. A governance structure to ensure credibility and financial sustainability is proposed.