Technological progress and Chinese agricultural growth in the 1990s

The paper examines the factors contributing to the sharp recovery of China's agricultural production in the 1990s in contrast to the stagnation in the late 1980s, and analyzes the policy effects during this period paying special attention to the role of technological progress. Using data from 28 provinces covering the years 1991–1999, a conventional production model and an extended production model with time-effects are estimated using random-effects estimation and a growth accounting for land productivity is evaluated. The results show that technological progress plays the dominant role in the recovery, accounting for 58% of total productivity growth during the sample period, while an increase in fertilizer use is second, with about 19%. Extension of the land tenure to 30 years for farm households could be a policy encouraging adoption of new technologies and more investment. The contribution of this policy change accounts for 21% in the productivity growth in the period. Increase in mechanized farming, plastic film input and education are all factors contributing to China's agricultural growth in the 1990s.