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TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AND SURPLUS LABOUR IN EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURE, 1952–1972
Author(s) -
Aly Hassan Youssef,
Grabowski Richard
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.157
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1477-9552
pISSN - 0021-857X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1477-9552.1984.tb01181.x
Subject(s) - agriculture , economics , estimation , marginal product , product (mathematics) , production (economics) , function (biology) , marginal product of labor , production function , technological change , labour economics , agricultural economics , microeconomics , macroeconomics , mathematics , geography , geometry , management , archaeology , evolutionary biology , biology
This paper has two main purposes. First to determine if technical innovation has occurred in Egyptian agriculture and whether or not it has been labour‐using in nature. Secondly, to determine whether or not the marginal product of labour in Egyptian agriculture has been negative (surplus labour). The time period covered by the study is 1952 to 1972. The above objectives were met by estimating a weak disposability of inputs (WDI) production function. The characteristics of the weak disposability of inputs function were discussed in great detail, since much of the profession is unfamiliar with this functional form. The function was then estimated and the results seemed to indicate that this functional form was appropriate for Egyptian agriculture. The results of the estimation process indicated that labour‐using technical innovation had indeed occurred, although at a very slow rate. In addition, for most of the time period covered the marginal product of labour was indeed negative.