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Examining Labor Substitution: Does Family Matter for U.S. Cash Grain Farmers?

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  • D'Antoni, Jeremy M.
  • Khanal, Aditya R.
  • Mishra, Ashok K.

Abstract

The substitution of capital for labor and new labor-saving technologies has reduced the labor required for farming, yet many farms today depend on hired labor in some form. Common in the literature is the assumption of perfectly substitutable farm labor. This has implications for the operator's off-farm labor decision. Intuitively, different forms of farm labor have different impacts on production. We use the Agricultural and Resource Management Survey to estimate the elasticity of substitution between hired and family labor. The results provide little evidence to support the popular homogeneity assumption and find labor can be unitary and complimentary under certain scenarios.

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  • D'Antoni, Jeremy M. & Khanal, Aditya R. & Mishra, Ashok K., 2014. "Examining Labor Substitution: Does Family Matter for U.S. Cash Grain Farmers?," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(2), pages 273-284, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jagaec:v:46:y:2014:i:02:p:273-284_00
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    1. Michael W. Robbins & Sujit K. Ghosh & Joshua D. Habiger, 2013. "Imputation in High-Dimensional Economic Data as Applied to the Agricultural Resource Management Survey," Journal of the American Statistical Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 108(501), pages 81-95, March.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Nguyen, Huy, 2014. "Crop diversification, economic performance and household’s behaviours Evidence from Vietnam," MPRA Paper 59090, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Wang, Xiaobing & Huang, Jikun & Rozelle, Scott, 2017. "Off-farm employment and agricultural specialization in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 155-165.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • R38 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Government Policy

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