Efficiency and Technical Change in the Philippine Rice Sector: A Malmquist Total Factor Productivity Analysis |
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| Authors: | Chieko Umetsu Thamana Lekprichakul and Ujjayant Chakravorty |
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| Institution: | Chieko Umetsu is associate professor, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan and was a visiting scholar at the Research Program, East-West Center;Thamana Lekprichakul was a doctoral student at the Department of Economics, University of Hawaii,when this research was conducted;Ujjayant Chakravorty is associate professor, Department of Economics, Emory University. Seniority of authorship is equally shared. |
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| Abstract: | Regional differences in total factor productivity, efficiency, and technological change in the Philippine rice sector are examined for the post-Green Revolution era. Malmquist productivity indices were constructed for 1971–90 and were decomposed into efficiency and technological change. The average annual Malmquist productivity growth was only slightly positive. Productivity growth was negative during the early 1970s, and was followed by a period of positive growth. Growth was negative again in the late 1980s. The period of positive growth coincided with the introduction of new rice varieties while the declines are likely to have been caused by intensification of rice production in lowland farming systems. Certain regions such as Central Luzon, Western Visayas, and Southern and Northern Mindanao had higher rates of technological change than others. This may be due to higher investments in infrastructure and education, increased adoption of tractors, and a better agroclimatic environment. |
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| Keywords: | Malmquist index Philippine rice sector productivity growth technical change |
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