Productivity and Comparative Advantage in Rice Agriculture in South-East Asia Since 1870 *

Pierre van der Eng ()

Asian Economic Journal, 2004, vol. 18, issue 4, pages 345-370

Abstract: Rice long dominated the agricultural economies of South-East Asia. Given the economic predominance of agriculture, the development of rice production had a significant bearing on the economies in the region. This article explains why the countries of mainland South-East Asia long dominated the international rice market. It quantifies labor productivity in rice production and argues that simple, low-cost and labor-extensive, but low-yielding production technology allowed farmers in mainland South-East Asia to achieve significantly higher levels of labor product-ivity than in the more densely populated rice-producing areas in South-East Asia and Japan. High levels of labor productivity were a major source of comparative advantage in rice production for Burma, Thailand and Southern Vietnam. Copyright 2004 East Asian Economic Association.

Date: 2004
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