Pesticide regulatory decisions: Production efficiency, equity, and interdependence

✍ Scribed by Craig Osteen; Fred Kuchler

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1987
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 946 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0742-4477
• DOI: 10.1002/1520-6297(198723)3:3<307::aid-agr2720030306>3.0.co;2-1

✦ Synopsis

EPA examines the benefits and risks of an agricultural pesticide's use when deciding whether or not to cancel its registration, but often neglects two effects which could change the decision: (1) the distributional effects on farmers using and not using the pesticide, and (2) the interdependence among regulatory decisions. This article examines the economic implications of banning several cow and soybean pesticides, highlighting these two concerns. Generally, banning one pesticide could have little effect, but banning all pesticides for a pest problem could have substantial effects. However, some pesticide users could suffer significant losses even though the aggregate effects are small.

Agricultural pesticides are widely used to prevent yield losses from a variety of pests. Studies indicate that over 95 percent of the corn and soybean acreage is treated annually with one or more pesticide^.'-^ Pesticide use often results in higher yields or lower production costs than alternative methods of pest control, but may create environmental and safety risks. The pesticide regulatory process in the US, implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was designed to weigh the risks and benefits of agricultural and nonagricultural pesticides when deciding whether or not certain registered pesticides should remain on the market and which uses should be ~e r m i t t e d . ~ This article discusses the economic effects of selectively removing currently registered corn and soybean pesticides from the market. It empirically demonstrates that current risk-benefit procedures for agricultural pesticides often ignore important regulatory effects on the agricultural economy that, if recognized, could change decisions to cancel