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Reap what you sow: Agricultural technology, urbanization and structural change

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  • McGowan, Danny
  • Vasilakis, Chrysovalantis

Abstract

This paper studies how productivity-enhancing agricultural technology affects urbanization by provoking structural change. We investigate these issues using a natural experiment in the United States. The results show that technologies which improve crop productivity lead to a less urbanized economy as economic activity relocates from manufacturing and services towards agriculture. The effects are highly persistent and are driven by the technology increasing agricultural labor demand. Our findings highlight the potentially unintended, disruptive force of innovative technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • McGowan, Danny & Vasilakis, Chrysovalantis, 2019. "Reap what you sow: Agricultural technology, urbanization and structural change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:48:y:2019:i:9:12
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2019.05.003
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural technology; Productivity; Urbanization; Structural change;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure
    • Q11 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices

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