A new publication in Forest Policy and Economics analyses innovation in European forest tree breeding on the basis of four case studies (eucalyptus in Portugal, maritime pine in France, and Norway spruce in Sweden and Finland), using a conceptual framework combining the innovation system approach and the economics of innovation. The publication is based on the work carried out in B4EST.
Aline Fugeray-Scarbel, Xavier Irz, Stéphane Lemarié. Innovation in forest tree genetics: A comparative economic analysis in the European context. Forest Policy and Economics, Volume 155, October 2023, 103030. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2023.103030
Highlights
- Several generations of improved forest trees have been deployed over the last decades
- Genetic improvement in the studied countries is based on a structurally sound system of innovation
- Forest tree breeding suffers from both market and systemic failures.
- Private investment in forest tree breeding occurs if the industry is vertically integrated
- Public funding for and direct provision of breeding programmes is paramount