TY - JOUR
T1 - Technology catch-up in agriculture among advanced economies
AU - Ball, Virgil Eldon
AU - San Juan Mesonada, Carlos
AU - Sunyer Manteiga, Carlos
AU - Ericson, Kennet
AU - Sheng, Yu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society Inc.
PY - 2023/1
Y1 - 2023/1
N2 - We examine whether countries with low initial levels of agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) tend to ‘catch up’ with the technology leaders. We first compare relative levels of agricultural TFP, capital services and labour input levels in agriculture for 17 OECD countries between 1973 and 2011. Then we apply (conditional) convergence analysis to the panel data to examine the speed of convergence and test whether the convergence is transitory or permanent by analysing TFP changes over the business cycle. Capital intensities, quality improvement of capital, factors such as human capital spillovers, and certain agricultural policies are conditioning variables. We examine how differences in relative capital intensities affect agricultural productivity convergence over the business cycle. We find evidence that the speed of convergence increases during periods of contraction in economic activity.
AB - We examine whether countries with low initial levels of agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) tend to ‘catch up’ with the technology leaders. We first compare relative levels of agricultural TFP, capital services and labour input levels in agriculture for 17 OECD countries between 1973 and 2011. Then we apply (conditional) convergence analysis to the panel data to examine the speed of convergence and test whether the convergence is transitory or permanent by analysing TFP changes over the business cycle. Capital intensities, quality improvement of capital, factors such as human capital spillovers, and certain agricultural policies are conditioning variables. We examine how differences in relative capital intensities affect agricultural productivity convergence over the business cycle. We find evidence that the speed of convergence increases during periods of contraction in economic activity.
KW - generalised method of moments
KW - OECD agriculture
KW - productivity convergence
KW - the business cycle
KW - total factor productivity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85141413313&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/1467-8489.12494
DO - 10.1111/1467-8489.12494
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85141413313
SN - 1364-985X
VL - 67
SP - 18
EP - 37
JO - Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics
JF - Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics
IS - 1
ER -