The US government is getting a better return out of its spending on El
Ni帽o research than it would if it invested the money on Wall Street.
Economists with the Georgia Institute of Technology and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say that El Ni帽o research yields a
return of up to 26 per cent per year.
Improved El Ni帽o forecasts allow farmers to choose crops suited to the
year鈥檚 weather, yielding a net benefit of around $300 million a year.
鈥淪cientific research has the potential to generate a real benefit to society
that can be measured and quantified,鈥� says Rodney Weiher, NOAA鈥檚 chief
economist.