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Is small still beautiful? A comparative study of rice farm size and productivity in China and India

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  • Jianying Wang
  • Kevin Z. Chen
  • Sunipa Das Gupta
  • Zuhui Huang

Abstract

Purpose - – The farm size-productivity relationship has long been the subject of debate among development economists. Few studies address this issue for China, and those that do only with outdated data sets poorly representing the current situation after the past decade of rapid change, which includes the rapid development of land rental markets, village labor out-migration and use of farm machines. Meanwhile, many studies have researched this relationship for Indian, which is undergoing similar changes except for the development of active land rental markets. The purpose of this paper is to measure the farm size-productivity relationship under the situations of rapid transformation in China and India. Design/methodology/approach - – Based on the data of 325 Jiangxi and 400 Allahabad rice farmers in 2011, the survey covered multiple plots of each household in one/multiple growing season(s). The authors use the production function approach and the yield approach, and control for farmland quality, imperfect factor markets, and farm size measurement error, to identify the farm size-productivity relationship. Findings - – The regressions show that land yields increase with plot size both by season and over the year in China. This may be one of the reasons that farm sizes are growing in some areas. In India, however, the inverse farm size-productivity relationship is observed by the study, despite recent changes. Moreover, land yields increase with farm machine use in both China and India. This result contributes to the debate over whether mechanization improves yields or just expands the land frontier. Originality/value - – The paper empirically estimates the farm size-productivity relationship under rapid agrarian transformation in both China and India based on a unique data set collected by the authors in a detailed primary survey. The paper considers measurement error in the analysis, which adds values to this type of analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Jianying Wang & Kevin Z. Chen & Sunipa Das Gupta & Zuhui Huang, 2015. "Is small still beautiful? A comparative study of rice farm size and productivity in China and India," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(3), pages 484-509, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:caerpp:v:7:y:2015:i:3:p:484-509
    DOI: 10.1108/CAER-01-2015-0005
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Cheng, Shen & Bravo-Ureta, Boris E. & Zheng, Zhihao & Sun, Hao, 2017. "Land Consolidation, Productivity and Technical Efficiency: Evidence from a Cross Section of Farm Households in China," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258533, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Cai, Yi & Sun, Yucheng & Qi, Wene & Yi, Famin, 2022. "Impact of smartphone use on production outsourcing: evidence from litchi farming in southern China," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 25(4), September.
    3. Guangfeng Chen & Hongzhu Cao & Jun Liang & Wenqi Ma & Lufang Guo & Shuhua Zhang & Rongfeng Jiang & Hongyan Zhang & Keith W. T. Goulding & Fusuo Zhang, 2018. "Factors Affecting Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Grain Yield of Summer Maize on Smallholder Farms in the North China Plain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18, January.
    4. Luo, Yufeng & Chen, Feifei & Qiu, Huanguang, 2018. "Plot size and maize production efficiency in China: agricultural involution and mechanization," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274364, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Yahui Wang & Qingyuan Yang & Liangjie Xin & Jingyu Zhang, 2019. "Does the New Rural Pension System Promote Farmland Transfer in the Context of Aging in Rural China: Evidence from the CHARLS," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-19, September.
    6. Keijiro Otsuka, 2021. "Changing Relationship between Farm Size and Productivity and Its Implications for Philippine Agriculture," Discussion Papers 2102, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University.
    7. Li, Xingguang & Liu, Jundi & Huo, Xuexi, 2021. "Impacts of tenure security and market-oriented allocation of farmland on agricultural productivity: Evidence from China’s apple growers," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    8. Wang, Qian & Qiu, Junjie & Yu, Jin, 2019. "Impact of farmland characteristics on grain costs and benefits in the North China Plain," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 142-149.
    9. Ying Liu & Chenggang Wang & Zeng Tang & Zhibiao Nan, 2017. "Farmland Rental and Productivity of Wheat and Maize: An Empirical Study in Gansu, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-18, September.
    10. Li, Fang & Feng, Shuyi & Lu, Hualiang & Qu, Futian & D’Haese, Marijke, 2021. "How do non-farm employment and agricultural mechanization impact on large-scale farming? A spatial panel data analysis from Jiangsu Province, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    11. Yahui Wang & Liangjie Xin & Xiubin Li & Jianzhong Yan, 2016. "Impact of Land Use Rights Transfer on Household Labor Productivity: A Study Applying Propensity Score Matching in Chongqing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, December.
    12. Xing Ji & Jingwen Xu & Hongxiao Zhang, 2022. "How Does China’s New Rural Pension Scheme Affect Agricultural Production?," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-23, July.
    13. Wenjing Han & Zhengfeng Zhang & Xiaoling Zhang & Li He, 2021. "Farmland Rental Participation, Agricultural Productivity, and Household Income: Evidence from Rural China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-22, August.
    14. Yali Zhang & Yihan Wang & Yunli Bai, 2019. "Knowing and Doing: The Perception of Subsidy Policy and Farmland Transfer," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-15, April.
    15. Yao, Ling & Chen, Qihui & Wu, Laping, 2018. "Heterogeneous supply response: Does high price expectation attenuate the inverse farm size-productivity relationship in China?," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274363, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Haixia Wu & Hantao Hao & Hongzhen Lei & Yan Ge & Hengtong Shi & Yan Song, 2021. "Farm Size, Risk Aversion and Overuse of Fertilizer: The Heterogeneity of Large-Scale and Small-Scale Wheat Farmers in Northern China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-15, January.
    17. Agnieszka Kurdyś-Kujawska & Agnieszka Sompolska-Rzechuła & Joanna Pawłowska-Tyszko & Michał Soliwoda, 2021. "Crop Insurance, Land Productivity and the Environment: A Way forward to a Better Understanding," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, November.

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