Two thirds of American bees are in the almond orchards, two thirds of every bee insect. Beekeepers move their bees on trucks and pollinate a handful,. three or four sets maybe of different crops. They're up in Washington and Oregon pollinating blueberries or raspberries or cherries. And then they truck them out to the sunflower fields of North Dakota for the summer.
Wally Thurman of North Carolina State University and PERC talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the world of bees, beekeepers, and the market for pollination. Thurman describes how farmers hire beekeepers to pollinate their crops and how that market keeps improving crop yields and producing honey. Thurman then discusses how beekeepers have responded to Colony Collapse Disorder--a not fully understood phenomenon where colonies disband, dramatically reducing the number of bees. The discussion closes with the history of bee pollination as an example of a reciprocal externality and how Coase's insight helps understand how the pollination market works.