The Impact of Bt Cotton on Poor Households in Rural India

By Arjunan Subramanian, M. Qaim. 2008

167 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract The impact of genetically modified (GM) crops on the poor in developing countries is still the subject of controversy. While previous studies have examined direct productivity effects of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton and other GM crops, little is known about wider socioeconomic outcomes. We use a microeconomic modelling approach and comprehensive survey data from India to analyse welfare and distribution effects in a typical village economy. Bt cotton adoption increases returns to labour, especially for hired female workers. Likewise, aggregate household incomes rise, including for poor and vulnerable farmers. Hence, Bt cotton contributes to poverty reduction and rural development.

Subfields: Business and International Management, Molecular Biology, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5668f407daf74e2539fc268552ad2b06171c30c6

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Business and International Management

1. Thomas DuBois
2. N. Kabunga
3. M. Qaim

In Molecular Biology

1. S. Kouser
2. R. Twyman
3. M. Qaim
4. P. Christou
5. Glenn Stone
6. Arjunan Subramanian
7. Elaine M. Liu

In Plant Science

1. M. Qaim
2. S. Kouser
3. Thomas DuBois
4. N. Kabunga
5. P. Christou
6. Glenn Stone
7. Arjunan Subramanian
8. Elaine M. Liu

Citations in the corpus

• Bacillus thuringiensis: a century of research, development and commercial applications. (2011, background): “These factors, together with average yield increases of up to 10%, have raised net income by as much as 40% (Subramanian and Qaim, 2010).”
• The Economics of Genetically Modified Crops (2009, background): “Adapted from Subramanian & Qaim (2009a). www.annualreviews.org The Economics of Genetically Modified Crops 675 A nn u.”
• Impact of Bt cotton on pesticide poisoning in smallholder agriculture: A panel data analysis (2011, background): “Thus, technology adoption rates for 2002 are not representative, but the subsamples of Bt adopters and non-adopters are representative for cotton producers in central and southern India (Qaim et al., 2006; Subramanian and Qaim, 2010).”
• Impact of tissue culture banana technology on farm household income and food security in Kenya (2014, background): “Recent research has analyzed productivity, income, and poverty effects of different agricultural technologies (Christiaensen et al., 2010; Cunguara and Darnhofer, 2011; Subramanian and Qaim, 2010; Thirtle et al., 2003).”