The Missing Food Problem: Trade, Agriculture, and International Productivity Differences
- (pp. 226-58)
Abstract
Agriculture in poor countries has low productivity, high employment, and negligible trade flows relative to other sectors. These facts motivate a multisector, open-economy view of international productivity differences. With a quantitative multicountry model featuring nonhomothetic preferences, multiple interrelated sectors, distorted labor markets, and costly trade, I find: trade amplifies the negative effect of labor market distortions; trade costs—large for poor countries, especially in agriculture—significantly contribute to international productivity differences; and explicitly modeling agriculture reveals additional channels through which poor countries may gain from trade. (JEL F41, J24, J43, O13, O19, Q11, Q17)Citation
Tombe, Trevor. 2015. "The Missing Food Problem: Trade, Agriculture, and International Productivity Differences." American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 7 (3): 226-58. DOI: 10.1257/mac.20130108Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- F41 Open Economy Macroeconomics
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J43 Agricultural Labor Markets
- O13 Economic Development: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products
- O19 International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
- Q11 Agriculture: Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices
- Q17 Agriculture in International Trade
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