Assessing misallocation in agriculture: Plots versus farms

Fernando M. Aragón, Diego Restuccia and Juan Pablo Rud

Food Policy, 2024, vol. 128, issue C

Abstract: We examine empirically whether the level of data aggregation affects the assessment of misallocation in agriculture. Using data from Ugandan farmers, we document a substantial discrepancy between misallocation measures calculated at the plot and at the farm levels. Estimates of misallocation at the plot level are much higher than those obtained with the same data but aggregated at the farm level. Even after accounting for measurement error and unobserved heterogeneity, estimates of misallocation at the plot level are extremely high, with potential nationwide agricultural productivity gains of 562%. Furthermore, we find suggestive evidence that granular data may be more susceptible to measurement error in survey data and that data aggregation can attenuate the relative magnitude of measurement error in misallocation measures. Our findings suggest caution in generalizing insights on measurement error and misallocation from plot-level analysis to those at the farm level.

Keywords: Misallocation; Agriculture; Measurement error; Distortions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 O4 Q12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919224000897
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
Working Paper: Assessing misallocation in agriculture: plots versus farms (2024)
Working Paper: Assessing Misallocation in Agriculture: Plots versus Farms (2022)
Working Paper: Assessing Misallocation in Agriculture: Plots versus Farms (2022)
Working Paper: Assessing misallocation in agriculture: plots versus farms (2022)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:128:y:2024:i:c:s0306919224000897

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102678

Access Statistics for this article

Food Policy is currently edited by J. Kydd

More articles in Food Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().