Role of agricultural productivity growth in economic development: the neglected impact on institutional quality in Africa

Richard Grabowski and Sharmistha Self

Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, 2022, vol. 19, issue 2, No 8, 700 pages

Abstract: Abstract Growing agricultural productivity has often been seen as the key to rapid economic development. In this paper, it is argued that agricultural productivity growth plays an important role in institutional development. It is hypothesized that agricultural productivity growth leads to structural change both inside the rural agricultural sector and between this sector and modern manufacturing and services. This structural change creates opportunities for institutional entrepreneurs to extend institutional protection to these new activities (improving institutional quality). It is also hypothesized that increases in inequality tend to lead to institutional innovation which reduces institutional quality. These hypotheses were tested utilizing data for eighteen countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The main conclusion is that policies that promote agricultural productivity increases are found to be important in the improvement of institutional quality.

Keywords: Agricultural productivity; Institutions; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O1 O55 Q1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s40844-022-00232-w

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