How Endowments, Accumulations, and Choice Determine the Geography of Agricultural Productivity in Ecuador

Spatial disparity in incomes and productivity is apparent acrossand within countries. Most studies of the determinants of suchdifferences focus on cross-country comparisons or location choiceamong firms. Less studied are the large differences in agriculturalproductivity within countries related to concentrations of ruralpoverty. For policy, understanding the determinants of thisgeography of agricultural productivity is important, becausestrategies to reduce poverty often feature components designedto boost regional agricultural incomes. Census and endowmentdata for Ecuador are used to estimate a model of endogenoustechnology choice to explain large regional differences in agriculturaloutput and factor productivity. A composite-error estimationtechnique is used to separate systemic determinants from idiosyncraticdifferences. Simulations are employed to explore policy avenues.The findings suggest a differentiation between the types ofpolicies that promote growth in agriculture generally and thosethat are more likely to assist the rural poor.