Publisher's Synopsis
In the late 1960s agricultural economists Vernon Ruttan and Yujiro Hayami introduced "induced innovation theory" to explain how technological changes could be effected in developing and developed agricultural economies. Bruce Koppel brings together a groyp of economists and sociologists - including Ruttan and Hayami themselves - to assess how well the theory has weathered criticism and met the challenge of explaining institutional change in agriculture.;This work begins with a personal account of the theory's development and application by Ruttan and Hayami, followed by an explanation by volume editor Bruce Koppel of the current need for a reassessment. The contributor's then offer a set of major critiques of the theory and suggestions for new directions in its development. The book concludes with a response from Ruttan and Hayami.;Challenging key assumptions of the induced innovation mode, this book should provoke controversy and discussion. At the same time, it aims to offer strategies for future conceptual and empirical development which should generate considerable discussion and new research. By bringing together economic and sociological perspectives, it should encourage conversation and debate on how better to understand and explain technical and institutional change in agriculture.
