Migration and technical efficiency in cereal production: Evidence from Burkina Faso

Fleur Wouterse

No 815, IFPRI discussion papers from International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Abstract: "This paper uses data envelopment analysis and new data from Burkina Faso to test the impact of intercontinental and continental migration on technical efficiency in the production of two cereals—millet and sorghum—by rural households. Econometric evidence supports our theoretical expectation that the impact of emigration varies by migrant destination. I find evidence of a positive relation between continental migration and technical efficiency and a negative relation between intercontinental migration and technical efficiency. In an imperfect market environment, continental migration is associated with greater efficiency because it removes a male labor surplus; explanations for the negative relationship between intercontinental migration and technical efficiency should be sought in a surplus of female labor supply. Overall, findings suggest that migration does not lead to a transformation of cereal production from traditional to modern, because in an imperfect market environment, liquidity received in the form of remittances cannot compensate for labor shortfalls." from authors' abstract

Keywords: Migration; Rural households; Data envelopment analysis; Science and technology; Agricultural innovation; Cereal production; Institutional change; Innovation systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-agr, nep-dev, nep-eff, nep-lab and nep-mig
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Migration and technical efficiency in cereal production: evidence from Burkina Faso (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fpr:ifprid:815

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