Technological Change in the Agriculture of the United States and Australia

This study compares agriculture in the United States with agriculture in Australia with respect to technological change as measured by the Solow model. Over the past three decades the rate of technological change has been about four times as fast in the United States as in Australia. The analysis indicates that three‐fourths of this difference may be attributed to two structural features: (a) economies of size associated with out‐migration of labor, and (b) the composition of output. The study concludes by noting, first, that comparisons between regions or between countries may help one to understand the character of technological change, and, second, that because of structural differences, the introduction of technical improvements into the agricultural sectors of different countries may not yield similar results.