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The Effect of Agricultural Technology on the Speed of Development

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  • Eberhardt, Markus
  • Vollrath, Dietrich

Abstract

We examine heterogeneity in the elasticity of agricultural output with respect to labor. Employing panel data from 128 countries over a forty-year period we find distinct heterogeneity in the elasticity of agricultural output with respect to labor. This elasticity is lowest in countries with temperate and/or cold climate regions, and higher in countries including tropical or highland regions. This agricultural parameter determines the speed of structural change following changes in agricultural productivity or population. Calibration shows shifts in labor allocations and welfare will be 2–3 times larger in temperate regions than in tropical or highland regions.

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  • Eberhardt, Markus & Vollrath, Dietrich, 2018. "The Effect of Agricultural Technology on the Speed of Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 483-496.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:109:y:2018:i:c:p:483-496
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.03.017
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    3. Baráth, Lajos & Fertő, Imre & Hockmann, Heinrich, 2020. "Technological differences, theoretical consistency, and technical efficiency: The case of Hungarian crop-producing farms," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17.
    4. Fabio Monteforte & Mathan Satchi & Jonathan R. W. Temple, 2021. "Development priorities: the relative benefits of agricultural growth," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 73(3), pages 1122-1152.
    5. Lajos Baráth & Imre Fertő & Štefan Bojnec, 2020. "The Effect of Investment, LFA and Agri‐environmental Subsidies on the Components of Total Factor Productivity: The Case of Slovenian Farms," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(3), pages 853-876, September.
    6. Hannah Gichungi & Beatrice Muriithi & Patrick Irungu & Gracious Diiro & John Busienei, 0. "Effect of Technological Innovation on Gender Roles: The Case of Fruit Fly IPM Adoption on Women’s Decision-Making in Mango Production and Marketing in Kenya," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 0, pages 1-20.
    7. Barnabé Walheer, 2024. "Agro-Climatic Environment Heterogeneity and Productivity Convergence," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 22(4), pages 1001-1037, December.
    8. Dieppe, Alistair & Matsuoka, Hideaki, 2022. "Sectoral decomposition of convergence in labor productivity : A re-examination from a new dataset," BOFIT Discussion Papers 4/2022, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    9. repec:zbw:bofitp:2022_004 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Rota, Mauro & Spinesi, Luca, 2024. "Economic growth before the Industrial Revolution: Rural production and guilds in the European Little Divergence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
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    12. T. Ryan Johnson & Dietrich Vollrath, 2020. "The Role of Land in Temperate and Tropical Agriculture," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 87(348), pages 901-937, October.
    13. Cynthia A. Bartel & Keri L. Jacobs & Kenneth J. Moore & D. Raj Raman, 2024. "Anticipatory Technoeconomic Evaluation of Kentucky Bluegrass-Based Perennial Groundcover Implementations in Large-Scale Midwestern US Corn Production Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-16, August.
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