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Education, Labor Quality and U.S. Agricultural Growth

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  • Wang, Sun Ling
  • Somwaru, Agapi
  • Ball, Eldon

Abstract

This study employs a Tὄrnqvist index approach to construct quality-adjusted labor index for the U.S. farm sector using the volume (hours worked) of 192 demographic components and their corresponding cost shares. We decompose labor input change into quality change and quantity change. The results show that between 1948 and 2011 the decline of total hours worked resulted in -0.58 percentage points of output growth per year while increasing labor quality contributed to 0.08 percentage points of annual output growth. We further decompose labor quality change into a change in the educational attainment of the labor force and a change due to other factors. Our results show that the education component contributed to most of the labor quality changes during the study period. However, the contribution of educational attainment is greater in earlier years than in later years.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Sun Ling & Somwaru, Agapi & Ball, Eldon, 2015. "Education, Labor Quality and U.S. Agricultural Growth," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205351, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea15:205351
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.205351
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. D. W. Jorgenson & Z. Griliches, 1967. "The Explanation of Productivity Change," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 34(3), pages 249-283.
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    4. Golan, Amos & Judge, George G. & Miller, Douglas, 1996. "Maximum Entropy Econometrics," Staff General Research Papers Archive 1488, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    5. Wang, Sun Ling & Ball, Eldon, 2014. "Agricultural Productivity Growth in the United States: 1948-2011," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, issue 01, pages 1-1, February.
    6. John Kendrick, 1956. "Productivity Trends: Capital and Labor," NBER Chapters, in: Productivity Trends: Capital and Labor, pages -3-23, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Keywords

    Agricultural and Food Policy; Labor and Human Capital; Productivity Analysis;
    All these keywords.

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