Agricultural Production Functions Estimated From Aggregate Intercountry Observations: A Selected Survey

Michael Alan Trueblood

No 278560, Staff Reports from United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

Abstract: This paper critically surveys 10 studies that test the meta-production function hypothesis, which states that intercountry agricultural production variation is partly explained by different levels of human capital. The meta-production function exhibits constant returns to scale without human capital variables; with human capital, they estimate increasing returns. Some variables (land and general education) lack statistical significance. In subsample estimates, developed countries exhibit increasing returns to scale while less developed countries exhibit constant returns to scale. The production function is stable over time. Inadequate measurements are a serious problem; suggestions for improved measurements are offered for future studies.

Keywords: Labor and Human Capital; Productivity Analysis; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33
Date: 1991-06
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uerssr:278560

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.278560

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