Approaches to analysing labour productivity in agriculture and food systems

A review of existing studies reveals various methods for analysing labour productivity in agriculture and food systems. We classified them into two broad groups: parametric and non-parametric approaches. The fundamental difference between the two approaches is that the first relies on specific functional forms. In contrast, the second is not constrained by the restrictions of using a particular functional form. The parametric approach estimates the parameters of a specified production, cost, revenue, or profit function, including a measure of productivity growth. This chapter includes data envelopment analysis (DEA) as a non-parametric method and parametric methods such as stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), growth accounting, state variables and convergence model. A brief theoretical presentation is given for each method, along with empirical findings.