MEASURING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY: A NEW LOOK

V. Eldon Ball

No 277585, Staff Reports from United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

Abstract: This paper presents revised procedures for calculating total factor productivity and measuring productivity growth in U.S. agriculture over the postwar years. Our estimates reflect (1) a disaggregated treatment of outputs and inputs and (2) indexing / procedures that do not im ose a priori restrictions on the structure of production. We find that productivity grew at the average annual rate of 1. 5 percent during the 1948-79 period, compared with the 1.70 percent per year estimated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The similar estimates of productivity growth overshadow some important differences in measurement of individual inputs.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Productivity Analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25
Date: 1984-05
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uerssr:277585

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.277585

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