AN ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF COTTON AND PEANUT RESEARCH IN SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to utilize the economic surplus framework for evaluating the
impact of investment in agricultural research. The economic impact measures used in this study
were the total benefits and distribution of those benefits associated with investment in
agricultural research. These results were used to calculate an internal rate of return on the
investments. The focus of the research was on cotton and peanuts in the Southeast region of the
United States. Two equations were estimated to determine the impacts of the money being spent
on the research efforts of these two commodities.

The results revealed positive benefits to consumers and producers exceeded the investment
amount in each year for both commodities in the period. The total social benefits averaged about
201 million (1982) dollars annually for cotton research. Peanut research averaged about 191
million (1982) dollars resulting form research investment. The internal rates of return were 23.87
percent for cotton and 53.58 percent for peanuts, suggesting that past research investments
produced a high return to society. This result does not conflict the results of other similar studies
as those mentioned in the literature review.

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