| Article ID: | iaor20091089 |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Volume: | 38 |
| Issue: | 3 |
| Start Page Number: | 363 |
| End Page Number: | 373 |
| Publication Date: | May 2008 |
| Journal: | Agricultural Economics |
| Authors: | Lansink Alfons G.J.M. Oude, Werf Wopke van der, Surkov Ilya V., Kooten Olaf van |
| Keywords: | allocation: resources |
Growth and liberalization of world trade have increased the risks of introduction of quarantine plant pests into importing countries. Import inspection of incoming commodities is a major tool for prevention of pest introductions related to world trade, but inspection capacities are limited. This article develops a theoretical and an empirical model for the optimal allocation of inspection effort for phytosanitary inspection of imported commodities when the inspecting agency has a limited capacity. It is shown that the optimal allocation of inspection effort equalizes marginal costs of pest introduction across risky commodity pathways.