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Estimating the Technical Optimal Scale of Production in Danish Agriculture

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  • Rasmussen, Svend

Abstract

This paper uses representative farm account data for 1985-2007 to estimate stochastic production frontiers in the form of input distance functions for Danish crop, dairy and pig farms. The objective is to study and compare scale economies for the three farm types. The estimated technical efficiency is relatively constant over time for all three farm types, but the elasticity of scale differs. Although the size of all farm types has increased considerably during the last 20 years, more than 95 % of the crop farms and 85 % of the dairy and pig farms are still below the estimated technical optimal scale of production. The results support the hypothesis that the restrictions concerning the amalgamation of farms and the purchase of farm land have seriously prevented Danish farmers, and especially cash crop farmers, from taking full advantage of scale economies.

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  • Rasmussen, Svend, 2011. "Estimating the Technical Optimal Scale of Production in Danish Agriculture," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114790, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:eaae11:114790
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.114790
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    1. Bert Balk, 2001. "Scale Efficiency and Productivity Change," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 159-183, May.
    2. Catherine Paul & Richard Nehring & David Banker & Agapi Somwaru, 2004. "Scale Economies and Efficiency in U.S. Agriculture: Are Traditional Farms History?," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 185-205, November.
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    6. Chavas, Jean-Paul, 2001. "Structural change in agricultural production: Economics, technology and policy," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, in: B. L. Gardner & G. C. Rausser (ed.), Handbook of Agricultural Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 5, pages 263-285, Elsevier.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Žáková Kroupová, Zdeňka & Hálová, Pavlína & Rumánková, Lenka, 2020. "Productivity of Czech Milk Production in European Comparison," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 12(3), September.
    3. Martini, Bruno Guilherme & Helfer, Gilson Augusto & Barbosa, Jorge Luis Victória & Modolo, Regina Célia Espinosa & da Silva, Marcio Rosa & de Figueiredo, Rodrigo Marques, 2020. "Prediction and Context Awareness in Agriculture: A Systematic Mapping," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 12(3), September.
    4. Tohidi, Amirhossein & Ghorbani, Mohammad & Karbasi, Ali-Reza & Asgharpourmasouleh, Ahmadreza & Hassani-Mahmooei, Behrooz, 2020. "Comparison of Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods to Rank Business Strategies and Marketing Resources," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 12(3), September.
    5. Exenberger, Emil & Bucko, Jozef, 2020. "Analysis of Online Consumer Behavior - Design of CRISP-DM Process Model," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 12(3), September.
    6. Plogmann, Jana & Mußhoff, Oliver & Odening, Martin & Ritter, Matthias, 2022. "Farm growth and land concentration," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    7. Adamides, George, 2020. "Heuristic Evaluation of the User Interface for a Semi-Autonomous Agricultural Robot Sprayer," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 12(3), September.
    8. Pánková, Ludmila & Aulová, Renata & Jarolímek, Jan, 2020. "Economic Aspects of Precision Agriculture Systems," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 12(3), September.
    9. Prokopchuk, Olena & Prokopchuk, Ihor & Mentel, Grzegorz & Bilan, Yuriy, 2020. "Parametric Insurance as Innovative Development Factor of the Agricultural Sector of Economy," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 12(3), September.
    10. Tomas Baležentis, 2016. "Stochastic production frontier for the Lithuanian family farms," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 283-298, April.
    11. Kartal, Serkan & Choudhary, Sunita & Stočes, Michal & Šimek, Pavel & Vokoun, Tomáš & Novák, Vojtěch, 2020. "Segmentation of Bean-Plants Using Clustering Algorithms," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 12(3), September.
    12. Adamides, George, 2020. "Heuristic Evaluation of the User Interface for a Semi-Autonomous Agricultural Robot Sprayer," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 12(3), September.
    13. Žáková Kroupová, Zdeňka & Hálová, Pavlína & Rumánková, Lenka, 2020. "Productivity of Czech Milk Production in European Comparison," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 10(3), September.
    14. Ibe, Rebecca & Rahji, Mohammed & Adeoti, Adetola & Adenegan, Kemisola, 2020. "Household Demand for Fruits and Vegetables in Rural and Urban South-Western Nigeria," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 12(3), September.
    15. Thuy, Phan Thi & Niem, Le Duc & Lebailly, Philippe, 2020. "Recent Evolution of Perennial Crop Farms: Evidence from Dak Lak Province, Vietnam," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 12(3), September.

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