Misallocation, Selection and Productivity: A Quantitative Analysis with Panel Data from China

Tasso Adamopoulos, Loren Brandt (), Jessica Leight and Diego Restuccia

Working Papers from University of Toronto, Department of Economics

Abstract: We use household-level panel data from China and a quantitative framework to document the extent and consequences of factor misallocation in agriculture. We find that there are substantial frictions in both the land and capital markets linked to land institutions in rural China that disproportionately constrain the more productive farmers. These frictions reduce aggregate agricultural productivity in China by affecting two key margins: (1) the allocation of resources across farmers (misallocation) and (2) the allocation of workers across sectors, in particular the type of farmers who operate in agriculture (selection). We show that selection can substantially amplify the static misallocation effect of distortionary policies by affecting occupational choices that worsen the distribution of productive units in agriculture.

Keywords: Agriculture; misallocation; selection; productivity; China. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E02 O11 O14 O4 Q1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: Unknown pages
Date: 2017-11-13
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-cna, nep-eff, nep-mac, nep-opm, nep-tid and nep-tra
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (87)

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https://www.economics.utoronto.ca/public/workingPapers/tecipa-593.pdf Main Text (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Misallocation, Selection, and Productivity: A Quantitative Analysis With Panel Data From China (2022)
Working Paper: Misallocation, Selection and Productivity: A Quantitative Analysis with Panel Data from China (2021)
Working Paper: Misallocation, Selection and Productivity: A Quantitative Analysis with Panel Data from China (2019)
Working Paper: Misallocation, Selection and Productivity: A Quantitative Analysis with Panel Data from China (2017)
Working Paper: Misallocation, Selection and Productivity: A Quantitative Analysis with Panel Data from China (2017)
Working Paper: Misallocation, Selection and Productivity: A Quantitative Analysis with Panel Data from China (2017)
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