Thursday, May 17, 2007

Maybe This Will Help

I am trying to write a paper from my masters' thesis. Writing papers from masters' theses is never a good idea. The quality of the work is just not there. But I have to write a paper. It is my job.

My thesis is about the value people place on the environmental benefits from biotechnology. I come to some masters' level conclusions about practical issues concerning non-market valuation, the public good nature of biotechnology, and some behavioral issues with Filipinos.

I have two paper ideas that I cannot seem to expand upon.

The first paper idea concerns the valuation of research. Previous papers have concentrated on finished products, but I got values for research. Since much biotechnology is directly or indirectly funded by public dollars, it is interesting to see what values people place on research that will produce uncertain results.

The second paper idea concerns the practical issues of valuing environmental benefits especially in developing countries. The technique I develop addresses some of the major concerns of the valuation of environmental benefits from biotechnologies. This paper would be interesting because most previous studies use complex and expensive techniques, but I think my guesses are just as good if not better than their guesses.

I guess guessing makes the world go around. I guess I will write something.

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