Can labor market imperfections explain changes in the inverse farm size-productivity relationship ?

Can labor market imperfections explain changes in the inverse farm size-productivity relationship ? PDF

Author: Deininger, Klaus

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2016-06-24

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13:

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To understand whether and how inverse relationship between farm size and productivity changes when labor market performance improves, we use large national farm panel from India covering a quarter-century (1982, 1999, 2008) to show that the inverserelationship weakened significantly over time, despite an increase in the dispersion of farm sizes. A key reason was the substitution of capital for labor in response to nonagricultural labor demand. In addition, family labor wasmore efficient than hired labor in the 1982–1999 period, but not during the 1999–2008period.In line with labor market imperfections as a key factor, separability of labor supply and demand decisions cannot be rejected in the second period,except in villages with very low nonagricultural labor demand.

Are There Too Many Farms in the World?

Are There Too Many Farms in the World? PDF

Author: Andrew D. Foster

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 42

ISBN-13:

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This paper seeks to explain the U-shaped relationship between farm productivity and farm scale - the initial fall in productivity as farm size increases from its lowest levels and the continuous upward trajectory as scale increases after a threshold - observed across the world and in low-income countries. We show that the existence of labor-market transaction costs can explain why the smallest farms are most efficient, slightly larger farms least efficient and larger farms as efficient as the smallest farms. We show that to explain the rising upper tail of the U characteristic of high-income countries requires there be economies of scale in the ability of machines to accomplish tasks at lower costs at greater operational scales. Using data from the India ICRISAT VLS panel survey we find evidence consistent with these conditions, suggesting that there are too many farms, at scales insufficient to exploit locally-available equipment-capacity scale-economies.

Essays on Farm Productivity

Essays on Farm Productivity PDF

Author: Jacques C. Julien

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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Agricultural productivity is critical for the development of many sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries where the farming sector plays a key role in the economy. An important issue concerns evidence of the inverse relationship between farm size and productivity in developing countries, which has been documented over many decades. Despite the accumulated evidence, this relationship, which has been attributed to a variety of factors, remains a puzzle for development economists. This dissertation provides new evidence concerning the inverse relationship (IR) hypothesis by addressing several shortcomings found in the literature and applying state-of-the-art stochastic frontier methods, such as the true random effects model (Greene, 2005a) and a random parameters stochastic frontier (RP-SPF) model (Tsionas, 2002; Greene, 2005b) to account for time-varying inefficiency and unobserved heterogeneity. This dissertation also offers novel analyses concerning agricultural productivity differences between male and female farmers in Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda using a multiple-step methodology. The analysis focuses on productivity and efficiency gaps as well as on testing land and labor market imperfections for both groups of farmers.

Reconsidering Conventional Explanations of the Inverse Productivity-Size Relationship

Reconsidering Conventional Explanations of the Inverse Productivity-Size Relationship PDF

Author: Christopher B. Barrett

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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The inverse productivity-size relationship is one of the oldest puzzles in development economics. Two conventional explanations for the inverse relationship have emerged in the literature: (i) factor market imperfections that cause cross-sectional variation in household-specific shadow prices and thereby induce variation in input application rates; and (ii) the omission of soil quality measurements that are inversely correlated with farm or plot size but positively associated with yields. This study uniquely employs precise soil quality measurements at the plot level with multiple plots per household so as to allow testing of both conventional explanations simultaneously. Our empirical results show that, in these data, only a small portion of the inverse productivity-size relationship is explained by market imperfections and none of it seems attributable to the omission of soil quality measurements.

Labor, Markets, And Agricultural Production

Labor, Markets, And Agricultural Production PDF

Author: Jan Douwe van der Ploeg

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2019-04-05

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 0429714041

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Focusing on the complex and often contradictory relationships between agricultural production and markets, Labor, Markets, and Agricultural Production examines the micro-macro linkages between farm production, farm labor issues, and the degree of autonomy or dependency vis-Ã -vis markets. By comparing the case of farmers in Peru, generally regarded as peripheral agricultural producers, with that of European farmers able to easily access the centralized markets of the EEC, Dr. van der Ploeg is able to draw general conclusions about the ongoing process of commoditization of agriculture and the roles farmers play in agrarian development.

Transforming Food Systems for a Rising India

Transforming Food Systems for a Rising India PDF

Author: Prabhu Pingali

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-05-14

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 3030144097

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This open access book examines the interactions between India’s economic development, agricultural production, and nutrition through the lens of a “Food Systems Approach (FSA).” The Indian growth story is a paradoxical one. Despite economic progress over the past two decades, regional inequality, food insecurity and malnutrition problems persist. Simultaneously, recent trends in obesity along with micro-nutrient deficiency portend to a future public health crisis. This book explores various challenges and opportunities to achieve a nutrition-secure future through diversified production systems, improved health and hygiene environment and greater individual capability to access a balanced diet contributing to an increase in overall productivity. The authors bring together the latest data and scientific evidence from the country to map out the current state of food systems and nutrition outcomes. They place India within the context of other developing country experiences and highlight India’s status as an outlier in terms of the persistence of high levels of stunting while following global trends in obesity. This book discusses the policy and institutional interventions needed for promoting a nutrition-sensitive food system and the multi-sectoral strategies needed for simultaneously addressing the triple burden of malnutrition in India.

Agrarian Structure and Productivity in Developing Countries

Agrarian Structure and Productivity in Developing Countries PDF

Author: R. Albert Berry

Publisher:

Published: 1979

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13:

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ILO pub-WEP pub. Comparison of the impact of agrarian structure on agricultural production and agricultural employment in developing countries - comprises case studies of relationships between farm size, labour intensiveness, land utilization, agrarian reform and technological change in Brazil, Colombia, the Philippines, West Pakistan, India and Malaysia, concludes that small farms are more productive than larger farms, and falls within the framework of the WEP. Graphs, references and statistical tables.

Harvesting Prosperity

Harvesting Prosperity PDF

Author: Keith Fuglie

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781464813931

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This book documents frontier knowledge on the drivers of agriculture productivity to derive pragmatic policy advice for governments and development partners on reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity. The analysis describes global trends and long-term sources of total factor productivity growth, along with broad trends in partial factor productivity for land and labor, revisiting the question of scale economies in farming. Technology is central to growth in agricultural productivity, yet across many parts of the developing world, readily available technology is never taken up. We investigate demand-side constraints of the technology equation to analyze factors that might influence producers, particularly poor producers, to adopt modern technology. Agriculture and food systems are rapidly transforming, characterized by shifting food preferences, the rise and growing sophistication of value chains, the increasing globalization of agriculture, and the expanding role of the public and private sectors in bringing about efficient and more rapid productivity growth. In light of this transformation, the analysis focuses on the supply side of the technology equation, exploring how the enabling environment and regulations related to trade and intellectual property rights stimulate Research and Development to raise productivity. The book also discusses emerging developments in modern value chains that contribute to rising productivity. This book is the fourth volume of the World Bank Productivity Project, which seeks to bring frontier thinking on the measurement and determinants of productivity to global policy makers.

Farming Systems and Poverty

Farming Systems and Poverty PDF

Author: John A. Dixon

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 9789251046272

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A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.