Agricultural Labor Productivity Research Articles

Services Input and the Catching-up Process of Agricultural Labor Productivity in China: A New Explanation of Periodical Characteristics of Agricultural Labor Productivity

China has been lagging behind leading countries in terms of agricultural labor productivity for a long time.This paper analyzes the catching-U.S.-up process of agricultural labor productivity of China in two stages and focuses on the role of services input in the catching-up process based on a growth accounting framework.It finds that the catching-U.S.-up effect experienced by agricultural labor productivity of China is obvious during the period from 1995 to 2003,but the contribution resulting from the increase in the density of services input is relatively small.And the catching-U.S.-up effect experienced by agricultural labor productivity of China is even more obvious during the period from 2003 to 2009,but the relatively low contribution resulting from the density of services input drags the catching-up process instead.The internal structure analysis of services input indicates that the development of services input in agriculture lags behind omnidirectionally.It is essential to fully realize the importance of services input in order to further improve China's agricultural labor productivity and narrow the development gap between China and leading countries.The solution to the lagging-behind development of China's services input in agriculture lies in the improvement of agricultural finance,agricultural insurance,agricultural marketing,agricultural logistics,agricultural Internet Plus,the financing lease of agricultural machineries,etc.

The Growth Path of Agricultural Labor Productivity in China: A Latent Growth Curve Model at the Prefectural Level

Given the shrinking proportion of agriculture output and the growing mobility of the labor force in China, how agricultural labor productivity develops has become an increasingly attractive topic for researchers and policy makers. This study aims to depict the development trajectory of agricultural labor productivity in China after its WTO entry. Based on a balanced panel data containing 287 Chinese prefectures from 2000 to 2013, this study applies the Latent Growth Curve Model (LGCM) and finds that the agricultural labor productivity follows a piecewise growth path with two breaking points in the years of 2004 and 2009. This may stem from some exogenous stimulus, such as supporting policies launched in the breaking years. Further statistical analysis shows an expanding gap of agricultural labor productivity among different Chinese prefectures.

Determinants of microregional agricultural labour productivity – Evidence from Czechia

In this paper we aimed to explain differences in agricultural labour productivity at microregional level. We tested the effects of three major independent variables – farmland fragmentation, urbanization economies and farm size structure with particular emphasis on the relationship between land-use fragmentation and microregional differences in agricultural labour productivity. Our principal question therefore was if higher agricultural labour productivity at microregional level is associated with internal scale economies resulting from large average farm size (in terms of employment), proximity to large cities as a proxy for urbanization economies and lower levels of land-use fragmentation. We also asked if productivity gains from large average size of plots is higher than potential losses resulting from land tenure (tenants are generally less productive than farmland owners). Drawing on a case study of Czechia – a country with extremely fragmented farmland ownership, but the largest average size of plots in the EU and a strong role of farmland rental market – we confirmed our initial expectation that land-use fragmentation affects negatively microregional agricultural labour productivity. Larger average size of plots is positively related to microregional agricultural labour productivity despite potentially negative effects of land tenure. At the same time, no significant effects of urbanization economies and farm size structure were documented.

Croissance et revenu du travail agricole en Inde. Une économie politique de la divergence (1950-2014)

Malgre 7 % de croissance economique annuelle moyenne en vingt ans contre 1,7 % pour la population, pres de 55 % des actifs indiens dependent encore de l’agriculture en 2011. L’expose, articule sur trois niveaux d’analyse (comparaisons internationales depuis 1970, economie politique depuis l’Independance en 1947, diagnostic agraire microlocalise en 2014), montre comment le sous-continent demeure piege dans une trajectoire opposee au modele canonique de croissance : la population active agricole augmente au lieu de regresser, de meme que son ecart de revenu moyen avec les autres actifs. La liberalisation economique a bien dope la croissance non agricole, mais cette derniere s’avere bien trop pauvre en emplois. Ceci exacerbe une pression fonciere (0,65 ha/actif en 2011) aggravee localement par d’inegaux acces a la terre, a l’eau et a la valeur ajoutee. Une telle transformation structurelle appelle des innovations institutionnelles et techniques adaptees a ces contextes typiquement asiatiques.

The effect of human capital on labour productivity of farms in Poland

The effect of human capital on labour productivity of farms in Poland

Spatial-Temporal Characteristics and LMDI-Based Impact Factor Decomposition of Agricultural Carbon Emissions in Hotan Prefecture, China

Greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural ecosystem account for 7%–20% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, while approximately 17% of China’s carbon emissions are from agriculture. In this study, based on the scientific calculation system of carbon emissions in agriculture, we calculated the carbon emissions of agriculture in the Hotan prefecture between 1999 and 2013 and analyzed their spatial-temporal characteristics; next, we used the LMDI model to study the driving factors of agricultural carbon emissions. The results demonstrated the following: (1) in time series, the agricultural carbon emissions showed three stages of change, i.e., “decline, continued to rise and decline”, during the period of 1999 to 2013 in the Hotan prefecture; (2) In space, the carbon emissions from agricultural land use, paddy fields, enteric fermentation, and manure management were different due to the different sizes of cities and counties. The intensity of agricultural carbon emissions was varied and high, but the agricultural production structure, agricultural carbon emissions structure and other aspects had a high degree of consistency and homogeneity in the cities and counties of the Hotan prefecture; (3) Regarding the driving mechanism, the labor factor, agricultural labor productivity, and planting-animal husbandry carbon intensity are the main factors that increase agricultural carbon emissions in the Hotan prefecture. Compared with 1999, three major factors cumulatively achieved a 199.68% carbon emission increment from 2000 to 2013, of which the labor factor cumulatively increased by 120.04%, the agricultural labor productivity factor cumulatively increased by 54.94% and the planting-animal husbandry carbon intensity factor cumulatively increased by 24.70%. The agricultural production structure factor largely inhibited agricultural carbon emissions of the Hotan prefecture, which cut 99.74% of the carbon emissions from 2000 to 2013. Finally, we proposed policy recommendations, including the acceleration of labor transfer, the innovation and promotion of science and technology, the scientific breeding and rational disposal of livestock waste, and the adjustment and optimization of the agricultural industry structure.

Structural Analysis of Development Patterns

This study provides a sketch on the trends of domestic production and labor productivity in agriculture, industry and services sector of 155 countries from across the globe during the period of 1980 to 2012, while focusing mainly on the impact of income and size of the stated economies on their domestic productions and labor productivity. Findings confirm that the trend of production is decreasing for agricultural sector while increasing for service sector whereas, parabolic trend is found observed for it in industry sector, while the trend of labor allocations is found upward in industry and service sectors in contrast to downward trend in agricultural sector for all of the stated nations as the whole. It was noted that the average labor productivity was found with negative trend for all of the stated sectors. The findings further confirms that the income and size of the economies positively affect the productions in agriculture and industry sector substantially while manage to affect the service sector somehow as well. While the size of economy also effect the labor productivity in all of sectors of selected nations.

The Significance of Farm Size in the Evaluation of Labour Productivity in Agriculture

The paper deal with the analysis of difference in labour productivity of farms categorised according to their size, to determine if the set subsidy system influences labour productivity in the size groups of the farms. The source of data for enterprises analysis was the firms database, which contains accounting data of 926 farms with at least one employee. The observed data were from the 6 year period (2007–2012). The farms were divided, according to their size into four categories defined by the European Commission: micro, small, medium and large enterprises. The analysis of the labour productivity I based on the added value and labour costs revealed that there are big differences of the labour productivity levels in particular size groups of farms. The further analysis revealed that an adjustment of the farm approach of the labour productivity, when the paid operation subsidies are added (labour productivity II), changes this conclusion and the differences between particular size groups of farms decreased. Using σ-convergence, it was proved that the relative variability of the labour productivity II values decreased significantly in the case of the medium-sized farms. We can say that subsidies significantly influence the labour productivity in farms. On one hand, there is decrease of differences between the level values of particular size groups of farms; on the other hand, there is no significant decrease its variability (except the medium-sized farms).

Characteristics and influencing factors of grass-feeding livestock breeding in China: An economic geographical perspective

The development of grass-feeding livestock breeding is the key to promoting the transition from grain-consumption type animal husbandry to grain-saving type animal husbandry in China, and to solving the problem of competition for grain between people and livestock. From the perspective of economic geography, this paper first defines the conversion standard for the breeding quantity of livestock, and then uses exploratory spatial data analysis technology and econometric models and methods to systematically investigate the sequential variation process, geographical aggregation characteristics, and influencing factors of grass-feeding livestock breeding in China. The study results show the following: 1) The breeding quantity of grass-feeding livestock in China has an obvious overall growth trend, but there is an obvious difference among the livestock species. During the period 1978–2012, the breeding quantity of grass-feeding livestock in China grew by 92.5%; and the breeding quantity within the same period was beef cattle > sheep > dairy cow. 2) On the county scale, the number of increasing areas of the breeding quantity of grass-feeding livestock is larger than the number of decreasing areas, and the growth rate of breeding quantity of grass-feeding livestock in northern China is higher than that in southern China, which initially forms the pattern of “hot in the north and cold in the south”. 3) The spatial Durbin model shows that the per capita output of grain, proportion of productive land area, urban per capita disposable income, agricultural mechanization level, agricultural labor productivity and policy factor have positive effects on the development of grass-feeding livestock breeding, while the per capita GDP, urbanization level and proportion of non-agricultural income have obvious negative effects on it. 4) Grass-feeding livestock breeding in China can be divided into six major types of areas, and each type of area should be regulated and controlled in terms of their respective focus of attention according to regional conditions and situation of agricultural production.

Consumption and Leisure: The Welfare Impact of Migration on Family Left Behind

This paper examines the effect of international migration on the welfare of family members left behind at the origin. Previous literature has produced inconclusive evidence, with some studies suggesting that migration reduces income poverty while others show that non-migrants bear a larger work burden to compensate for the loss of migrants' earnings. This paper provides a new unified framework that generates testable predictions of whether migration increases non-migrants' welfare in terms of both consumption and leisure time. Drawing on household panel data in rural Mexico, I find that migration increases non-migrants' consumption, but that this consumption gain cannot be explained by labor supply adjustments. Migration improves left-behinds' welfare through two different channels: (i) migrants' remittances exceed their forgone income contribution to the origin household; and (ii) the out-migration of a farmer increases the marginal productivity of agricultural labor for those left behind in the farm.

Физико-географические условия Алтайского округа в оценках ученых-естественников конца XIX — начала XX в.

The article reveals the specifics of physical and geographical realities of the Altai region in the scientists’ coverage of the late 19th — early 20th centuries. Based on the vast range of published works, the authors state that in the period under review there is a final shift from the defining the Siberian climate as homogeneous and unsuitable for effective human activities. It resulted in closer attention of specialists to some areas of the Urals and to Altai which at the turn of the century were experiencing an active peasants’ colonization. The publication argues that the scientific study of the natural conditions of the district carried out by experts in the late 19th — early 20th century determined the conclusion about the heterogeneity of the region on a number of basic geographical parameters (relief, climate, soil, hydrography and vegetation). At the same time, a number of environmental parameters such as temperature, surface irrigation, precipitation, etc. caused, according to the scientists, significant difficulties for the development of grain farming in selected areas of the region. Noting the presence of the fundamental conditions for agricultural production in Altai, the researchers stated low predictability of farm labor productivity arising due to the challenging climatic conditions of the district. DOI 10.14258/izvasu(2016)4-19

Znaczenie dopłat bezpośrednich w kształtowaniu wydajności pracy indywidualnych gospodarstw rolniczych w województwie śląskim

W opracowaniu określono wpływ dopłat bezpośrednich na wydajność pracy w indywidualnych gospodarstwach rolniczych. Badaniami objęto indywidualne gospodarstwa rolnicze z terenu województwa śląskiego, uczestniczące w systemie PL-FADN. Okres badawczy obejmował lata 2005–2008. Przeprowadzone badania wykazały, że zasadniczy udział w zasobach siły roboczej gospodarstw stanowiła praca własna rolnika. Najwyższą wydajnością pracy charakteryzowały się gospodarstwa największe, zarówno pod względem obszarowym, jak i wielkości ekonomicznej oraz te o typie „uprawy polowe”. Wraz ze zwiększaniem się środków finansowych z tytułu dopłat obszarowych wydajność pracy w gospodarstwach rolnych wzrastała, a gospodarstwa o najwyższym poziomie dopłat bezpośrednich lepiej wykorzystywały posiadane zasoby siły roboczej.

Did the Establishment of Poyang Lake Eco-Economic Zone Increase Agricultural Labor Productivity in Jiangxi Province, China?

In this paper, we take the establishment of Poyang Lake Eco-Economic Zone in 2009 as a quasi-natural experiment, to evaluate its influence on the agricultural labor productivity in Jiangxi Province, China. The estimation results of the DID method show that the establishment of the zone reduced agricultural labor productivity by 3.1%, lowering farmers’ net income by 2.5% and reducing the agricultural GDP by 3.6%. Furthermore, this negative effect has increased year after year since 2009. However, the heterogeneity analysis implies that the agricultural labor productivities of all cities in Jiangxi Province will ultimately converge. We find that the lack of agricultural R&D activities and the abuse of chemical fertilizers may be the main reasons behind the negative influence of the policy, by examining two possible transmission channels—the R&D investment and technological substitution. Corresponding policy implications are also provided.

An Analysis of the Labour Productivity of the Agricultural Sector in the Republic of Serbia

Abstract One of the main objectives pursued in agriculture as the primary sector in the economy is to increase the labour productivity. In order for this objective to be achieved, it is necessary to increase agricultural production, while at the same time preserve natural resources and the environment. If the creators of development policies are to formulate effective policies and strategies, adequate information relating to all vital determinants of productivity of agriculture is required. Therefore, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia annually prepares and publishes, among others, information on the value of agricultural production and the number of employees in agriculture. The aim of this paper is to examine the changes in the level of productivity of agriculture in the Republic of Serbia in the period from 2007 to 2013. It also analyses the impact of labour productivity in agriculture in the share of GDP that is realized in this sector of the national economy. Agricultural population, as one of the factors that affect productivity in agriculture is analysed in terms of education and employment. The aim is to quantify the level of productivity in agriculture, as well as to examine the interdependence between labour productivity and GDP in agriculture, in order to point to the critical determinants of productivity that require improvement. The methods used in this paper are: analysis method, synthesis method, comparison method, descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis. Research results show that Serbia has achieved an unenviable level of labour productivity in agriculture within the analysed period of time. Research in this study is useful for the creators and holders of the development policy for the future guidance of development policies and strategies of the agricultural sector in Serbia.

Labour productivity of agricultural business companies and cooperatives in the Czech Republic: A micro-regional level analysis

Abstract Drawing on empirical evidence from the Czech Republic, differences in agricultural labour productivity at the micro-regional level are examined. The role of geographical factors: natural conditions, landscape fragmentation, localisation and urbanization economies, are discussed. In addition, we also test the effects of farm size structure to capture the results of internal scale economies. The key importance of natural conditions is confirmed: they were significantly more important than farm characteristics such as size structure, ownership status and mode of production. Regional agricultural labour productivity was positively influenced by the nominal price of agricultural land and population density. Surprisingly, micro-regions dominated by large farms performed at lower productivity levels than micro-regions with fragmented farm size structure in the Czech Republic.

The Determinants of Agricultural Productivity and Rural Household Income in Ethiopia

This paper aims at investigating the determinants of agricultural productivity and rural household income in Ethiopia. Three econometric models namely: Pooled ordinary least square (POLS), fixed effects (FE) and random effects (RE) model were used to examine the relationship between productivity and income; using Ethiopian socio-economic survey of 2011/12 and 2013/14 data, collected by CSA of Ethiopia in collaboration with the World Bank. Results showed that, Land-labor ratio, use of fertilizer, use of pesticide, manure and household size are found to be the most significant variables that affect agricultural labor and land productivity. However, drought has statistically significant and has negative effect on both labor and land productivity by the same magnitude. Labor productivity, non-farm income and land productivity are found to be the most determinants of household income. However, number of dependency ratio is significantly and negatively affects the rural household income. Sex of the household head is the main socio-economic factor for the variation of income among the rural households. The study also concludes that, Labor productivity is the most potent for factor of production and rural household income enhancement. The policy implication of the study is that, increasing land-labor ratio is important for agricultural productivity enhancement and promotion of both farm labor and non-farm income are best focusing to speed up for the enhancement of rural household income. Keywords: Labor productivity, Land productivity; Rural household income, Rural household panel data, Fixed effect model

Labour Scarcity and Farm Mechanisation: A Cross State Comparison

The paper has analysed the trends in labour use (casual labour and family labour), machine use and labour productivity for five major crops namely, paddy, wheat, cotton, sugarcane and chickpea in the major states. The paper test the hypothesis that there are significant changes in the labour use, farm mechanisation and labour productivity across the states and crops by using the data collected from comprehensive cost of cultivation scheme for the period 1997 to 2010. The labour use per hectare decreased mainly in wheat, chickpea and paddy. The farm mechanisation is speeded up replacing both human and bullock capital. This transformation started in Punjab and Haryana and spread to other states. It increased labour productivity significantly when compared to land productivity. There is also a process of casualisation of agricultural labour as reflected in the increased share of casual labour in states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat and Haryana. However, in most of the crops in Orissa, West Bengal and in some crops in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan still the share of family labour is high with low level of farm mechanisation and less labour productivity which reflects the prevalence of subsistence agriculture. The positive association among farm mechanisation, displacement of family labour and increased casualisation of labour is observed across many states and crops. Some less developed states are catching up in the process. In this process, there is a steep increase in the labour productivity in agriculture, but the growth rates in wage rates are not commensurate with labour productivity growth. There is huge labour productivity gap that exists across the states with Punjab and Haryana leading with Madhya Pradesh and Orissa at the lower level

East Africa in the Malthusian Trap?

The article demonstrates that: (i) the main countries of East Africa (Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania) have not escaped the Malthusian trap yet, (ii) these countries are not likely to follow the “North African path” and are likely to encounter serious social problems before they achieve success in making a transition in their fertility rates, and (iii) East Africa is unlikely to achieve this escape if it does not follow the “Bangladeshi path” and will not achieve substantial fertility declines in the foreseeable future. The Bangladeshi path implies the introduction of compulsory universal secondary education, serious family planning programs, and a rise in the legal age for marriage with parental consent. Such measures should of course be accompanied by the substantial increases in agricultural labor productivity concomitant with a decline in the percentage of the population employed in agriculture.

The Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity: The Role of Market Imperfections

This paper hypothesises that labour and credit market imperfections – by discouraging off-farm income-generating activities and restricting access to inputs, respectively – affect female farm productivity more deeply than male productivity. The paper develops a theoretical model, which decomposes the contribution of various market imperfections to the gender productivity gap. Empirically we show that agricultural labour productivity is, on average, 44 per cent lower on female-headed plots than on those managed by male heads. 34 per cent of this gap is explained by differences in labour market access and 29 per cent by differences in credit access.

Understanding farm trajectories and development pathways: Two decades of change in southern Mali

Institutional support for smallholders has been the motor for the expanding cotton production sector in southern Mali since the 1970s. Smallholder farms exhibit diverse resource endowments and little is known on how they benefit from and cope with changes in this institutional support. In this paper we explore farm trajectories during two decades (1994 to 2010) and their link with farm resource endowment and government support. We distinguished a favourable period for cotton production and an unfavourable period during which institutional support collapsed. A panel survey that monitored 30 farms in the Koutiala district in southern Mali over this period was analysed. Based on indicators of resource endowment and using Ascending Hierarchical Classification (AHC), farms were grouped into four types: High Resource Endowed farms with Large Herds (HRE-LH), High Resource Endowed (HRE) farms, Medium Resource Endowed (MRE) farms and Low Resource Endowed (LRE) farms. Average yield, labour productivity and food self-sufficiency status of each type were calculated. Farms remaining in the same type were classified as ‘hanging in’, while farms moving to a type of higher yields, labour productivity and food self-sufficiency status were classified as ‘stepping up’, and farms following the opposite trajectory of deteriorating farming conditions were classified as ‘falling down’. The LRE farms differed from all other farm types due to lower yields, while both LRE and HRE farms differed from the MRE and HRE-LH farm types due to a combination of less labour productivity and less food self-sufficiency. During those two decades, 17% of the farms ‘stepped up’, while 70% of the farms remained ‘hanging in’, and only 13% of the farms ‘fell down’. We found no obvious negative impact of the collapse of government support on farm trajectories. For MRE, HRE and HRE-LH farms, average N and P use intensity increased from 1994 to 2004 and then decreased during the following cotton crisis. On the other hand, organic fertilizer use intensity increased continuously over the entire monitoring period for HRE-LH and MRE farms. Crop yields did not change significantly over time for any farm type and labour productivity decreased. We discuss how technical options specific for different farm types (increase in farm equipment, sale of cereals, incorporation of legumes and intensification of milk production) and broader institutional change (improvement in finance system and infrastructure, tariffs) can enhance ‘step up’ trajectories for farming households and avoid stagnation (‘hanging in’) of the whole agricultural sector.