European Review of Agricultural Economics Advance Access published online on July 6, 2009
European Review of Agricultural Economics, doi:10.1093/erae/jbp014
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Dynamically optimal strategies for managing the joint resistance of pests to Bt toxin and conventional pesticides in a developing country
a China Economics and Management Academy, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China
b Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
c Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
d Food Security and the Environment Program, Freeman Spogli Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
Corresponding author: Fangbin Qiao, China Economics and Management Academy, Central University of Finance and Economics, No. 39 College South Road, Beijing 100081, China. E-mail: qiaofb{at}yahoo.com.cn
Received November 2007; final version received May 2009
In this study we discuss why planting non-Bacillus thuringiensis (non-Bt) cotton as a refuge crop in China (and other developing countries) may not be economically optimal. To show this, we develop a bioeconomic model to run simulations that will help find the optimal strategies for managing the joint resistance of pests to the Bt toxin and conventional pesticides. We show that the approach of not requiring non-Bt cotton as a refuge is defensible given initial conditions and parameters calibrated to China's cotton production environment. Of special importance is the existence of natural refuge crops. The nature of transaction costs associated with implementing a refuge policy is also considered.
Keywords: biotechnology, Bt cotton, resistance, natural refuge crops, China
JEL classification: C15, Q16, Q28