Séminaire Macro
12h15 – 13h30
14 septembre 2026

Salle 3001

Simon BUNEL (INSEAD) “Cultivating Productivity through Regulation: The Case of Pesticide Bans in France”

Résumé :

This paper examines the long-standing debate on regulation’s impact on productivity and innovation using novel French agricultural data combining farm-level balance sheets, crop protection records, and regulatory changes. The findings highlight a policy trade-off. On the one hand, when regulation bans an active substance for which no substitute is available, it causes short-term productivity declines that mitigation practices cannot offset.
On the other hand, it can also act as a catalyst for innovation over the medium term. In particular, such substitute-less bans spur agrochemical firms to develop new solutions including entirely new active molecules for the regulated uses. These results highlight the need for regulatory policies that balance short-term economic costs with long-term technological progress.