The "Efficient Boundaries" of International Agricultural Research: A Conceptual Framework with Empirical Illustrations
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The role of international agricultural research centers (IARCs) has long been a
subject of discussion, often with emphasis that they should conduct research that
produces international public goods (IPGs). However, centers still face a dilemma on
how to balance between IPGs and location-specific work. This paper contributes to
the development of principles by which they should position themselves. Transaction
cost economics was applied to develop a framework, which is then illustrated with an
empirical case study of legume research at the International Crops Research Institute
for the Semi-Arid Tropics. A participatory mapping technique (Net-Map) was
combined with key informant interviews in India, Malawi and Ethiopia. We find that
IARCS play an important role in germplasm improvement, the field in which they
have a comparative advantage. However, due to insufficient capacity of national
systems, they also engage in downstream activities. This reduces incentives for
governments and donors to overcome governance challenges.