Grain and sunflower on Russian farms in 2001: how efficient is crop production?

An unusually detailed sample of large farms in Rostov, Ivanovo and Nizhny Novgorod regions of Russia in 2001 allows microeconomic examination of the production of grain and sunflower crops on Russian farms. Farms are found to have some excess capital and labour, but not land and other types of capital. New operators are found to be more efficient than other farms thought they do not necessarily produce more output. Neither rural infrastructure, location nor specialisation has a clear impact on farm efficiency. How workers are paid is found to be a potential short‐term method for improving farm efficiency that would not involve major farm restructuring.     

TECHNOLOGY,POLICY DISTORTIONS,AND THE RISE OF LARGE FARMS

Between 1900 and 2002, mean farm size in the United States tripled; productive resources were increasingly concentrated in large farms. These observations are difficult to explain as results of profit maximization by farmers in a frictionless equilibrium model, given exogenous factor endowment and technology. I show that notable shifts in the farm size distribution coincided with important changes in farm legislation and that farm programs provided larger farms more subsidy per dollar of output produced. These farm‐level distortions are crucial for the increasing dominance of large farms but have little impact on employment and productivity in agriculture.     

Productivity,technical efficiency and technological change in French agriculture during 2002-2015: a Färe-Primont index decomposition using group frontiers and meta-frontier

The objective of the article is to assess productivity change in French agriculture during 2002–2015; namely, total factor productivity (TFP) change and its components – technological change and efficiency change. For this, we use the Färe-Primont index which verifies the multiplicatively completeness property and is also transitive, allowing for multi-temporal and -lateral comparisons. We investigate the extent of heterogeneity within each type of farming sub-sample in terms of TFP change, with the help of the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI). In addition, to compare the technologies among the five types of farming considered, we extend our analysis to the meta-frontier framework. Results indicate that during 2002–2015, all farms experienced TFP progress. The smallest average increase was experienced by the dairy farms and the largest by the field crop farms and the beef farms. The latter had the strongest technological progress but a deterioration in efficiency, while the opposite was found for field crop farms. The analysis of HHI reveals that sheep or goat farms are the most homogenous in terms of the direction of TFP change experienced over the period 2002–2015. The meta-frontier analysis shows that field crop farms’ technology is the most productive of all the types of farming.     

Total factor productivity in the Lithuanian family farms after accession to the EU: application of the bias-corrected Malmquist indices

The non-parametric measures of efficiency and productivity do not enable to fathom the underlying technology changes in terms of input saving and consumption. However, the bias-corrected Malmquist productivity index offers a remedy to this shortcoming. This paper, thus, employed the bias-corrected Malmquist productivity index to measurement of the total factor productivity changes in the Lithuanian family farms. The paper employed the Malmquist productivity indices to measure the technical changes (TCs) in terms of input-saving or input-use. Specifically, a sample of 200 family farms was used for the analysis. The research period covered years 2004–2009. The three farming types were considered, namely crop, livestock, and mixed farming. The analysis indicted that crop farming was peculiar with land-using and asset-saving TC, whereas labour-using and intermediate consumption saving TCs were observed only for certain combinations of inputs. As for livestock farms these generally experienced intermediate consumption and asset saving TCs against all the remaining inputs, whereas labour-saving and land-using TC varied with the reference inputs. Finally, mixed farms can be considered as those peculiar with increasing land use and decreasing capital consumption. Labour-using and intermediate consumption saving TCs did also hold for most of the analysed factors. The Lithuanian agricultural sector has not been analysed by the means of the bias-corrected Malmquist indices. Furthermore, there is a gap in the literature on the efficiency and total factor productivity in the Lithuanian farms in general. The present study, therefore, presents insights on the technology change based on non-parametric estimates.     

Technology, trade, and adjustment to immigration in Israel

In the early 1990s Israel experienced a surge of immigration from the former Soviet Union. Russian immigrants had high relative education levels. There is little evidence that the immigration shock put downward pressure on Israeli wages. We examine two mechanisms through which Israel may have absorbed labor-supply changes related to the Russian immigration: Global changes in production technology and national changes in output mix. Global changes in production techniques, which appear consistent with skill-biased technical change, were sufficient to more than offset Israel's change in relative factor supplies. Changes in output mix did not help Israel absorb changes in relative factor supplies.     

The myth of large farm superiority: Lessons from agricultural transition in poland

In Poland, larger farms are often actively promoted over small farms. This policy is based on the perception that there are economies of scale that favor large farms; however, this is contrary to international evidence, which generally indicates that larger farms are less efficient and use less labor than smallscale family farms.

Using both total factor productivity measures and data envelopment analysis, empirical findings from Poland suggest that larger farms are no more efficient than smaller farms, and smaller farms are relatively more labor-intensive. These results have important policy implications for farm restructuring in Poland and other transition economies.     

The Investment Behaviour of Russian Farms

This article analyses determinants of the investment behaviour of Russian farms during the period of economic stabilisation after the 1998 financial crisis. We argue that the performance and investment activity of Russian farms are significantly affected not only by the macroeconomic and institutional environment but also by the farm's individual characteristics. Our empirical analysis confirms that farm investment decisions are determined by farm idiosyncrasies. The farm's managerial competence and organisational learning are found to have the greatest impact.     

The use of bootstrapped Malmquist indices to reassess productivity change findings: an application to a sample of Polish farms

This article assesses the extent to which sampling variation affects findings about Malmquist productivity change derived using data envelopment analysis (DEA), in the first stage by calculating productivity indices and in the second stage by investigating the farm-specific change in productivity. Confidence intervals for Malmquist indices are constructed using Simar and Wilson's (1999) bootstrapping procedure. The main contribution of this article is to account in the second stage for the information in the second stage provided by the first-stage bootstrap. The DEA SEs of the Malmquist indices given by bootstrapping are employed in an innovative heteroscedastic panel regression, using a maximum likelihood procedure. The application is to a sample of 250 Polish farms over the period 1996 to 2000. The confidence intervals’ results suggest that the second half of 1990s for Polish farms was characterized not so much by productivity regress but rather by stagnation. As for the determinants of farm productivity change, we find that the integration of the DEA SEs in the second-stage regression is significant in explaining a proportion of the variance in the error term. Although our heteroscedastic regression results differ with those from the standard OLS, in terms of significance and sign, they are consistent with theory and previous research.     

Estimating the Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture in Low-Income Countries: Household Level Evidence from the Nile Basin, Ethiopia

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the impact of climate change on agriculture in a typical developing country. The economic implications of climate change are estimated by using both a farm productivity and a Ricardian framework. Data are drawn from about 1,000 farms producing cereal crops in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia. The thin plate spline method of spatial interpolation was used to predict household specific rainfall and temperature values using meteorological station data collected for 30?years across the regions. We found that climate change adaptation has a significant impact on both farm productivity and farm net revenues. We complement the analysis by providing an estimation of the determinants of adaptation. Extension services (both formal and farmer to farmer), as well as access to credit and information on future climate changes are key drivers of adaptation.     

An Analysis of the Performance of Commercially Oriented Farms in Hungary

As a result of the economic restructuring and political reforms undertaken during the 1990s, Hungary has a varied set of farm types that encompass a wide array of different sizes, degrees of capital intensity and forms of ownership. This article explores the performance of Hungarian farms and concludes that, in contrast to other Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, the majority of commercially oriented farms are profitable. However, estimates are sensitive to the valuation of own land and labour inputs. From the application of factor and cluster analysis, eight clusters of farms are profiled and the most competitive group identified. While the most profitable cluster also has the highest mean farm size, farm consolidation should not be treated as a panacea for dealing with low agricultural returns in the region.     

Innovation and productivity in agricultural firms: evidence from a country-wide farm-level innovation survey

ABSTRACT

The literature on the links between innovation and productivity at the firm level in agriculture is almost nonexistent. In this paper, we analyze the factors behind the innovation effort of farms and the impact that innovation effort has on farm’s productivity, exploiting a unique farm-level agricultural innovation survey carried out in Uruguay. The results indicate that farm size, cooperation with other agents to perform R&D, the education of the owner of the farm, the participation of foreign capital and the existence of links with other organizations, in particular scientific, horizontal and vertical ones, are positively correlated with innovation effort. Public and private financial support are not clearly linked with innovation effort. The innovation effort has a positive effect on farm’s productivity. Some heterogeneities across industries in agriculture are found.     

The relative efficiency of slave agriculture: a comment

In their book Time on the Cross, Fogel and Engerman (FE) present evidence that average factor productivity was greater for larger Southern slave farms in 1860 than for both free farms and smaller slave farms. In a recent article, Field (1988) lends support to the FE theory by finding that an upward shift in the production function occurs for slave farms at 15 slaves, the size at which FE propose that gang labour became feasible. In a more recent article, Grabowski and Pasurka (GP) contradict both FE and Field by finding that there was no relationship between the size of slave farms and their efficiency. The present paper extends both GP's and Field's work and refines a point made by FE. We distinguish between a technological advantage due to the gang labour system and revenue inefficiency due both to the incentive structure of slavery and the repugnance of gang labour, two factors which foster rational shirking and resistance by slaves. That is, we propose that relative to small slave farms, large slave farms may have enjoyed a higher revenue frontier but that actual output and revenue fell farther below their frontier. Our construction is consistent with the historical view that emphasizes the harshness of slavery, the repugnance of the gang labour system, and the rational resisting behaviour of the slaves. We test this hypothesis with the stochastic frontier function approach as did GP. However, our findings contradict them. We find, consistent with both FE and Field, that large slave farms exhibited superior technology over small farms. More importantly, we find empirical confirmation of our theory that large slave farms suffered greater revenue inefficiency than smaller slave farms.     

Analysis on total factor productivity of Chinese provincial economy

This paper applies the nonparametric DEA-Malmquist index approach to estimate total factor productivity growth, efficiency change and the rate of technological progress from 1979 to 2003. This is done to conduct analysis on the total factor productivity of China’s provincial economy. Analysis on the evolution of distribution dynamics of relative labor productivity, relative total factor productivity, relative efficiency and relative technological progress is done by using kernel density estimation for the period from 1979 to 2003 in 29 provinces of China. Our analysis indicates that disparities of provincial economic growth are large and have been increasing owing to the relatively large and increasing disparities of total factor productivity growth especially the rate of technological progress. __________ Translated from The Journal of World Economy (世界经6D4E;), 2005, (5) (in Chinese)     

Analyses of technical efficiency using SDF and DEA models: evidence from Nepalese agriculture

Alleviation of poverty is a central issue in Nepal. Given the limited stock of land and the infant/unorganized manufacturing sector, increased demand for food has to be satisfied by improving production efficiency. This article examines how this could be achieved. Stochastic distance function and data envelopment analysis models identify the existence of a high degree of technical inefficiency in Nepalese agriculture, suggesting that there is a substantial prospect of increasing agricultural productivity using the existing level of inputs and resources more efficiently. Among the three farm sizes in the data set, medium size farmers achieve a higher technical efficiency than large and small farm sizes, suggesting that productive efficiency can be increased with the encouragement of creating medium size holdings. The observed decreasing returns to scale also implies that productivity gains could be achieved by breaking up of large farms into small family farms. The technical inefficiency model suggests the potential for shifting the production frontier upwards by providing ownership of land, increasing farmers’ education and knowledge, and increasing land quality, including irrigation facilities.     

俄罗斯入世给中俄经贸合作带来的机遇和挑战

随着俄罗斯经济的复苏，其加入WTO的时刻也日益迫切。俄罗斯入世后，其经贸条件、投资环境、相关法律等都将发生明显变化，对中俄经贸合作将产生重大影响。     

Strategic Bankruptcy and Private Pension Default

Instantiated patterns of oil-based energy use have been difficult to change across sectors and societies. Although faced with price increases, diminishing supplies, and climate externalities, many sectors still depend on oil-based energy and have not fully adapted to changing resource conditions. Using a theoretical approach of institutional change, we offer a fine-grained analysis of factors limiting and facilitating energy adaptations. In this case study of farmers in Maine, we identify patterns in their perceptions of the macro-energy environment, adaptation strategies, and anticipated energy challenges. We segment the farms into groups representing small diversified farms and larger commodity farms, and investigate within and across farm sectors to understand farmer strategies for responding to changing energy prices. Significant differences in customs and beliefs, perceptions, and intended institutional changes are found between the small diversified and the larger commodity farms. The ability of farms within these sectors to successfully integrate positive institutional change will determine their possibility to evolve as sustainable enterprises.     

Policy reform and productivity change in Chinese agriculture: A distance function approach

Agricultural policy reform has been an important source of change in the Chinese agricultural sector. The reforms led to productivity growth and helped China to pursue its self-sufficiency goal especially in the grain sector. In order to analyze whether observable productivity growth stems from technologically induced components or from the market induced parts, a multi-input–multi-output model is derived by using an econometric distance function framework. A decomposition allows to distinguish allocative effects, scale effects, technological change, and technical efficiency change. Data on farms in Zhejiang from 1986 to 2000 are used to analyze the impact of policy reform.     

Did the Thai rice-pledging programme improve the economic performance and viability of rice farming?

This article evaluates impacts of the rice-pledging programme on the economic performance and viability of rice farming in Thailand. It also investigates whether the effects of the programme are heterogeneous across different farm types using the propensity score matching technique to address the self-selection bias in the farm-level data set. We found that the programme enhanced the economic performance less than hoped for. Overall, the programme was estimated to improve the net direct farm income for participating farms by $175.12–$194.82 per hectare. Taking into account the heterogeneous effects of the programme across farm types, we calculated that the greatest effects may be realized by farmers within the small farms subsample, at $404.41–$439.85 per hectare, but only $139.80–$213.36 per hectare for midsize farms, and $138.82–$173.34 per hectare for large farms. With regard to the economic viability of the programme, we discovered that it had an insignificant effect on farm modernization investment initiatives. Thus, future strategies incorporated into the programme that better control increases in production costs, improve small farmers’ access to the programme and require participating farms to spend a portion of the money received on farm modernization may improve long-run benefits of the programme.     

Evolving techniques in production function identification illustrated in the case of the US dairy

We estimate production technologies of major dairy producing regions in the U.S. The simultaneity and sample selection biases are carefully corrected following the recent development in the literature. The commonly applied control function approaches are found to be misleading in correcting for biases of coefficient estimates on flexible and quasi-fixed input variables. We show that the emerging dairy regions have relatively higher aggregate productivity than traditional regions. Dynamic decomposition results indicate that surviving farms play a more important role in regional productivity growth than entering and exiting farms. Farm- and regional-level driving forces of farm productivity are also examined.     

The Impact of Liberalizing Barriers to Foreign Direct Investment in Services: The Case of Russian Accession to the World Trade Organization

In this paper a computable general equilibrium model of the Russian economy is used to assess the impact of accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which encompasses improved market access, Russian tariff reduction, and reduction of barriers against multinational service providers. It is assumed that foreign direct investment in business services is necessary for multinationals to compete well with Russian business services providers, but cross‐border service provision is also present. The model incorporates productivity effects in both goods and services markets endogenously, through a Dixit–Stiglitz framework. It is estimated that Russia will gain about 7.2% of the value of Russian consumption in the medium term from WTO accession and up to 24% in the long run. It is also estimated that the largest gains to Russia will derive from liberalization of barriers against multinational service providers. Piecemeal and systematic sensitivity analysis shows that the results are robust.