Productivity Growth in Agriculture: An International Perspective

Abstract

This book grew out of an international conference in 2010 organised by USDA's Economic Research Service and the Farm Foundation. The subtitle An International Perspective indicates that it embodies a tribute and dedication to the work of Vernon Ruttan and the universally used textbook he wrote with Yujiro Hayami. After an introductory chapter by the editors, the book consists of four parts. Part I consists of five papers examining Agricultural Productivity in Developed and Transition Countries. Part II contains a further five papers examining Agricultural Productivity in Asia and Latin America. Three papers in Part III are devoted to Agricultural Productivity in Africa. In Part IV, the book concludes with two papers, one by Butzer, Mundlak and Larson on Measures of Fixed Capital in Agriculture and the book's final paper by Fuglie examining Productivity Growth and Technology Capital in the Global Economy, which uses a ‘growth accounting approach’ to examine agricultural output growth on a global scale and the contribution of total factor productivity (TFP) growth to it.