Is Investment in Agricultural Research a Good Substitute for Price Support in U.S. Cotton?

This article examines the effects of R&D on cotton yield and relationship between R&D and commodity support programs. The results indicate that yield elasticities with respect to cotton R&D is around 0.2-0.5 based on different regions. It further indicates that R&D increases government expenditures when both commodity programs and R&D funding exist. However, if the future WTO Doha negotiations rules out the possibility of price support programs, increasing R&D funding may provide one of the solutions for farmers to recover their income with 5-6 years lag.