Premium
TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY AND THE EFFECTS OF R&D IN AFRICAN AGRICULTURE
Author(s) -
LUSIGI ANGELA,
THIRTLE COLIN
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1328(199706)9:4<529::aid-jid462>3.0.co;2-u
Subject(s) - total factor productivity , economics , agriculture , productivity , frontier , agricultural economics , convergence (economics) , econometrics , stochastic frontier analysis , agricultural productivity , macroeconomics , geography , production (economics) , archaeology
This paper calculates multilateral Malmquist indices of total factor productivity (TFP) for agriculture in 47 African countries, for the period 1961–91. The average rate of TFP growth was found to be 1.27 per cent, which is higher than expected, given the pessimistic nature of much of the literature. There is some evidence of convergence in productivity levels, as the countries with low starting levels grew more rapidly. Population pressure on the land also appears to be a major explanation of faster growth, as has been suggested by Boserup and by Hayami and Ruttan's induced innovation hypothesis. However, fitting deterministic and stochastic frontier models shows that the effect of agricultural R&D on TFP growth is also positive and significant. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.