Public Acceptance with Biotechnology Governance Frameworks across Transnational Advisory Bodies

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between biotechnology governance frameworks and public acceptance of emerging biotechnological innovations across transnational contexts. While scientific advancement in fields such as gene editing, synthetic biology, and gene drives continues at an unprecedented pace, the societal legitimacy of these technologies remains highly contested. Using a comprehensive panel dataset spanning fifteen countries over a fifteen-year period (2008 to 2023), this study utilizes panel data analysis to evaluate how specific characteristics of national and transnational biotechnology governance frameworks predict public acceptance. Specifically, we operationalize governance frameworks through metrics of regulatory transparency, regulatory stringency, and public participation mechanisms. Our econometric specifications control for socio-economic factors, scientific literacy, and country-specific fixed effects. The empirical results demonstrate that while regulatory stringency has a non-linear, U-shaped relationship with public acceptance, both regulatory transparency and formal public participation mechanisms are robust, positive predictors of societal trust and technology adoption. Transnational advisory bodies act as critical institutional intermediaries, translating governance quality into public confidence by harmonizing standards and fostering discursive legitimacy across borders. These findings provide critical insights for policymakers aiming to design robust, democratic, and globally aligned biotechnology policies.