Edited by Philip G. Pardey and Vincent H. Smith 336 pages / 2004 $57.50 hardcover / ISBN 0-8018-7940-X $22.95 paperback / ISBN 0-8018-7941-8 Pricing for U.S. only. Foreign pricing also available. Published for IFPRI and distributed by Johns Hopkins University Press.

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In an era of limited research resources and limitless research needs, demonstrating the worth of any research discipline to policymakers and administrators is a prerequisite for obtaining future funding and making an impact in policy matters. Economists have worked diligently in developing both quantitative and qualitative indicators of the value of science and technology R&D. At the same time, they have paid little or no attention to valuing their own work. In What's Economics Worth? Valuing Policy Research, several expert economists take an important first step towards redressing this imbalance. Anyone who wants to understand what economists do and how to think about valuing their work will find this book intriguing and worthwhile.

"The nature of the topics discussed will not fail to engage the reader—I enjoyed reading this book… [I]f we as economists need to justify the value of economic research, this book provides a wealth of perspectives, ideas, and examples that certainly help make the case that "economics matters," as Pardey and Smith put it in their convincing opening line."

--Giancarlo Moschini, Iowa State University, Economic Development and Cultural Change 55 (2): 425-428, January 2007
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"This unique volume evaluates the transmission through which policy recommendations are made and promotes increased effectiveness of research."

--Reprinted from Han, T. 2005. Recent books in macroeconomics. Journal of Macroeconomics 27 (2): 379-383 with permission from Elsevier.

"This is an excellent collection of papers that should be well received by academics, policymakers, research institutions and others interested in the value of economic research and analysis. This is the first time to my knowledge that a book has been devoted solely to the topic of valuing economic research. It will provide a solid foundation for future research in the area."

--Joseph W. Glauber, Deputy Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture

"This is an excellent volume of work. The papers are all of a very high quality and several stand out as exceptional. The topic matter is important and this unique volume will improve our knowledge of the value of economic research by providing a readily accessible collection of mostly new papers that will appeal to a broad spectrum of practicing economists, as well as to policymakers. "

--Barry K. Goodwin, Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, North Carolina State University

Philip G. Pardey is Professor of science and technology policy in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota. Formerly, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Vincent H. Smith is a Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University and codirector of the Agricultural Marketing Policy Center at Montana State University.

Contributors: Jeffrey Alwang, Connie Chan-Kang, John Freebairn, Bruce Gardner, Arnold Harberger, Amir Heiman, Anne Krueger, Paul Krugman, Bob Lindner, George Norton, Philip G. Pardey, James Ryan, Vincent H. Smith, C. Peter Timmer, David Zilberman.

Table of Contents
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