American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
The Size Distribution of Farms and International Productivity Differences
American Economic Review
vol. 104,
no. 6, June 2014
(pp. 1667–97)
Abstract
We study the determinants of di fferences in farm-size across countries and their impact on agricultural and aggregate productivity using a quantitative sectoral model featuring a distribution of farms. Measured aggregate factors (capital, land, economy-wide productivity) account for ¼ of the observed differences in farm size and productivity. Policies and institutions that misallocate resources across farms have the potential to account for the remaining diff erences. Exploiting within-country variation in crop-specifi c price distortions and their correlation with farm size, we construct a cross-country measure of farm-size distortions which together with aggregate factors accounts for ½ of the cross-country diff erences in size and productivity.Citation
Adamopoulos, Tasso, and Diego Restuccia. 2014. "The Size Distribution of Farms and International Productivity Differences." American Economic Review, 104 (6): 1667–97. DOI: 10.1257/aer.104.6.1667Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D24 Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J43 Agricultural Labor Markets
- L11 Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
- O13 Economic Development: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products
- Q12 Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
- Q18 Agricultural Policy; Food Policy