The Bioeconomy to 2030
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The Bioeconomy to 2030

Designing a Policy Agenda

The biological sciences are adding value to a host of products and services, producing what some have labelled the "bioeconomy" and offering the potential to make major socio-economic contributions in OECD countries.  Using quantitative analyses of data on development pipelines and R&D expenditures from private and public databases, this book estimates biotechnological developments to 2015. Moving to a broader institutional view, it also looks at the roles of R&D funding, human resources, intellectual property, and regulation in the bioeconomy, as well as at possible developments that could influence emerging business models to create scenarios to 2030. These scenarios are included to stimulate reflection on the interplay between policy choices and technological advances in shaping the bioeconomy. Finally, the book explores policy options to support the social, environmental and economic benefits of a bioeconomy.
Publication Date :
15 Apr 2009
DOI :
10.1787/9789264056886-en
 
Chapter
 

Defining the Bioeconomy You do not have access to this content

Authors:
OECD
Pages :
19–30
DOI :
10.1787/9789264056886-3-en

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Both OECD and developing countries face a range of environmental, social, and economic challenges over the next two decades. Rising incomes, particularly in developing countries, will increase demand for healthcare and for agricultural, forestry, and fishing products. At the same time, many of the world’s ecosystems that support human societies are overexploited and unsustainable. Climate change could exacerbate these environmental problems by adversely affecting water supplies and increasing the frequency of drought. Biotechnology offers technological solutions for many of the health and resource-based problems facing the world. The application of biotechnology to primary production, health and industry could result in an emerging "bioeconomy" where biotechnology contributes to a significant share of economic output. The bioeconomy in 2030 is likely to involve three elements: advanced knowledge of genes and complex cell processes, renewable biomass, and the integration of biotechnology applications across sectors. This book evaluates existing evidence and the characteristics of biotechnology innovation in order to estimate what the bioeconomy of 2030 might look like. It also develops a policy agenda to help guide the use of biotechnology to address current and future challenges. 
Also available in: French