Crop Selection and International Differences in Aggregate Agricultural Productivity

August 16, 2019

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Format: Chicago

Jorge A Alvarez, and Claudia Berg. Crop Selection and International Differences in Aggregate Agricultural Productivity, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2019) accessed December 21, 2024

Disclaimer: IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

A large share of cross-country differences in productivity is explained by differences in agricultural productivity. Using a combination of sub-national agricultural statistics and geospatial datasets on crop-specific potential yields, we study the main drivers of this variation from a macroeconomic perspective. We find that differences in geographically-induced crop-specific comparative advantages can explain a substantial share of the variation in yields across the world. Data reveal substantial gaps between potential and observed yields in most countries. When decomposing these within country gaps, we find that crop selection gaps are on average larger than those induced by input usage alone. The results highlight the importance of understanding the interaction of geography and crop selection drivers in assessing aggregate agricultural productivity differences.

Subject: Agricultural commodities, Agricultural sector, Agroindustries, Commodities, Economic sectors, Income, Labor, National accounts, Personal income

Keywords: Agricultural commodities, Agricultural sector, Agriculture, Agroindustries, Asia and Pacific, Central Asia, Crop selection, Crop selection gap, East Asia, Fertilizer use, Geography, Income, North Africa, Observed yield, Potential yield, Productivity, Productivity gap, Sub-Saharan Africa, WP, Yield potential, Yield variation

Publication Details

Pages:

35
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 2019/179
Stock No:

WPIEA2019179
ISBN:

9781498326636
ISSN:

1018-5941

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