Title: Costs and enforcement of biosafety regulations in India and China

Authors: Carl E. Pray, Bharat Ramaswami, Jikun Huang, Ruifa Hu, Prajakta Bengali, Huazhu Zhang

Addresses: Cook College, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 55 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8520, USA. ' Planning Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 7 S.J.S. Sansanwal Marg, New Delhi 110 016, India. ' Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, No. Jia 11, Datun Road, Anwai, Beijing, 100101, China. ' Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, No. Jia 11, Datun Road, Anwai, Beijing, 100101, China. ' Marketics Technologies India Pvt Ltd, 1137, R.G Towers, 100 Feet Road, Indira Nagar, Bangalore-560038, India. ' Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, No. Jia 11, Datun Road, Anwai, Beijing, 100101, China

Abstract: This paper examines the cost of compliance and the enforcement of biosafety regulations in China. Costs were higher in India, and enforcement of regulations was more effective in China. Lower costs in China may be because national companies, government research institutes and foreign firms were all pressing for less costly regulation, while in India there was less pressure by these groups to reduce regulatory costs. Enforcement of regulations was less effective in India because farmers and small seed firms have more influence on policy makers and local agricultural departments are supposed to be enforcing decisions from the environmental ministry.

Keywords: biosafety regulations; genetically modified crops; GM crops; developing countries; genetic modification; GMOs; agricultural biotechnology; regulatory enforcement; compliance costs; India; China; transgenic crops.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTG.2006.009131

International Journal of Technology and Globalisation, 2006 Vol.2 No.1/2, pp.137 - 157

Published online: 03 Mar 2006 *

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