The interplay of labour, land, intermediate consumption and output: a decomposition of the agricultural labour productivity for the Baltic States

Abstract

This article proposes a decomposition approach for the agricultural labour productivity change that takes into account the land-to-labour ratio, intermediate consumption intensity and intermediate consumption productivity. The case of the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) is considered which is interesting in the light of the European Union (E.U.) expansion and the structural change taking place in those countries. In addition, Poland, Germany and Denmark are included in the analysis as benchmark countries. To quantify the drivers of the agricultural labour change in the countries considered, the Index Decomposition Analysis (I.D.A.) is applied. The analysis proceeds in two directions: first, the cumulative change in the agricultural labour productivity over 1998–2018 is decomposed for each country under analysis; second, differences in the agricultural labour productivity for each country vis-à-vis Denmark (the highest productivity country) are decomposed. The results offer important policy implications as the intermediate consumption intensity appears as the critical factor that needs to be addressed via the support payments.