Policy Reforms and Technological Change in Egyptian Rice Production: a Frontier Production Function Approach

Abstract

This paper uses a frontier production function approach to quantify the separate effects of policy reforms, technological change, and increased input use on production growth in Egyptian rice production. The results showed that the policy reforms initiated in the mid-1980s, in addition to technological change and increased use of inputs, have had a great impact on rice production growth. Increased investment in agricultural research will be the main determinant of future production growth because further reforms in the rice sector will not generate the similar growth-promoting effect on production as before and increased land input is also limited because of water shortage. Without the increase in land input, the marginal returns from other inputs will decline. Copyright 1997 by Oxford University Press.