IS THERE A LATIN AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL GROWTH PATTERN? FACTOR ENDOWMENTS AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY

ABSTRACT In this article, we discuss whether there was a single Latin American pattern of agricultural growth between 1950 and 2008. We analyse the sources of growth of agricultural production and productivity in ten Latin American countries. Our results show that the differences between these countries are too large to establish a single pattern for this region. However, certain common trends may be observed, such as the growing importance of labour productivity as a component of agricultural production growth and the increasing relevance of total factor productivity as a component of agricultural labour productivity growth.

Agricultural labour productivity and credit constraints: implications for consumption in rural Ghana

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to assess the impact of credit constraints on agricultural labour productivity as well as the impact of credit constraints and agricultural labour productivity on rural households' consumption in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the Ghana Living Standard Survey round six (GLSS 6) as the main source of data, which happens to be one of the most comprehensive household datasets in Ghana. Quantitative estimation techniques (namely: Endogenous Switching Regression and Two Stage Least Squares) are used to address possible endogeneity and selection into credit markets.FindingsFirst, large households are prone to credit constraints while age (experience) and compliance with extension advice reduce credit constraints. Second, the determinants of agricultural labour productivity for both constrained and unconstrained households are age, sex, farm equipment, herbicide and farm size. Third, household size, education and livestock rearing influence agricultural labour productivity of constrained households. Fourth, credit constraints, irrespective of how they are measured, impede agricultural labour productivity while access to credit fosters labour productivity. Lastly, credit constraints robustly reduce consumption while agricultural labour productivity strongly enhances rural households' consumption.Originality/valueThe first contribution is that, unlike most previous studies, we do not focus on the widely used measure of productivity – output per unit land, but on agriculture labour productivity in particular. Secondly, unlike most previous studies which examine the effect of credit constraints either on productivity alone or consumption alone, our study examines the impact of credit constraints on both. Thirdly, unlike the existing literature which uses one or two measures of credit constraints, we use a wide range of measures of credit constraints – seven different measures of credit constraints. Lastly, our empirical strategy solves at least two critical econometric problems – sample selection bias and endogeneity.

Labour productivity in the Hungarian agriculture

This paper presents the situation of the agricultural labour employment and evaluates the agricultural labour productivity in Hungary. Since Hungary’s EU accession, the share of agricultural employment in the total employed population has been stabilized at around 5% in the country. Due to low wages, low profit and low prestige, agricultural jobs are not attractive. The gross and net labour productivity gap between Hungary and the EU have been significant since the EU accession. The agricultural labour productivity of the Hungarian regions also shows a different picture. The labour productivity influences the cost, profitability and competitiveness of products. The advantage of the cheap labour force in Hungary’s agriculture significantly decreased due to low labour productivity. There are several opportunities to increase the agricultural labour productivity such as the increase of labour force qualification, moving toward producing higher value added agri-food products, rejuvenation of population in agriculture and the improvement of the conditions of financing agriculture.

The Impact of the Main Determinants and Changes in Agricultural Labour Productivity in Macedonia

The aim of this paper is to analyze changes and impacts on the level of labour productivity in the agricultural sector in Macedonia in the period from 2006 to 2017. Labour productivity is an important determinant for establishing the competitiveness of a particular sector or overall economy and helps in creating the necessary conditions for economic development. Agricultural sector in many countries represents the basis for growth in gross domestic product. Agriculture plays a key role in development of the national economy in Macedonia as a third largest sector after services and industry. Therefore, in order to increase the agricultural labour productivity, it is necessary to increase agricultural production, i.e., the part of gross domestic product created by the agriculture sector. In this direction, the paper also analyzes the relationship between agricultural labour productivity and gross domestic product and employment in agriculture. Synthesis and analysis, induction and deduction, descriptive statistics, comparative analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis are used for the purpose of the paper. The results show that changes in gross domestic product in agricultural sector in Macedonia have a greater impact on agricultural labour productivity for the analyzed period compared to the impact of changes in the number of employees in the agriculture sector where the relationship is weak to moderate. Research results also showed that there is a positive and strong quantitative relationship between agricultural labour productivity growth rate and GDP growth rate in Macedonian economy. Agricultural GDP is the determinant which has to be influenced through intensification of agricultural production in order to increase the agricultural productivity.

Wydajność pracy jako przesłanka restrukturyzacji zatrudnienia w rolnictwie

Improvement in agricultural labour productivity can be achieved, among others, by the change in the employment structure, based on increase in the share of types of farming, where labour productivity is higher. To support this thesis, decomposition of labour productivity growth in the agriculture sector of EU countries, in years 2005-2013 has been carried out, using the shift-share method. Research results shows that the new Member States are more dynamic in this respect. The changes mainly meant a switch from a mixed production to a field cropping. In countries such as Lithuania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Latvia, the production in the farming types of above-average productivity was increasing. In Latvia and Denmark, the share of employment in sectors with higher productivity growth was increasing. However, changes in the opposite direction were more common.