Green Agricultural Productivity Growth and Convergence in sub-Saharan Africa

F. Djoumessi, Yannick (2016): Green Agricultural Productivity Growth and Convergence in sub-Saharan Africa.

Abstract

This study analyzes the dynamics of green agricultural productivity growth through SSA countries. As subsidiary objectives: (i) to estimate efficiency levels of agricultural production system in SSA countries (ii) to estimate green agricultural productivity index through SSA countries (iii) and then to determine path nature of the green agricultural productivity index trough time and SSA countries. The methodology used to assess the degree of convergence in output per worker is based on the cointégration analysis, which recognizes that labour productivity is generally a non-stationary time series and convergence is a gradual process. First of all, we consider a decomposition of the growth in labour (green) productivity in terms of (1) efficiency change (2) technical change (3) (physical) capital accumulation and (4) growth in human capital. Then, a semi-parametric approach will be used to construct the best production practice frontier for a sample of SSA, and compute Malmquist productivity indexes and their decomposition into the underlying productivity components for each country. Finally, we will assess the individual contribution of the various components to the convergence in labour productivity.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: convergence, green productivity, Malmquist index, Sub-Saharan Africa
• Subjects: Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Biofuels ; Agricultural Extension Services

References

Ball, V. E., Bureau, J. C., Butault, J. P., & Nehring, R. (2001). Levels of farm sector productivity: an international comparison. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 15, 5–29.

Bernard, A. B., & Durlauf, S. N. (1995). Convergence in international output. Journal Apply Econometrics, 10, 97–108.

Binswanger, H. P., & Townsend, R. F. (2000). The Growth Performance of Agriculture in Subsaharan Africa. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 82, 1075–1086.

Fare, R., Grosskopf, S., & Margaritis, D. (2006). Productivity growth and convergence in the European Union. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 25(Special issue on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Market Dynamics), 111–141.

Friedman, M. (1992). Do old fallacies ever die? Journal of Economic Literature, 30, 2129–2132.

Henderson, J. D., & Russell, R. R. (2005).Human capital and convergence: a production-frontier approach. Int Econ Rev 46:1167-1205. International Economic Review, 46, 1167–1205.

Kumar, S., & Russell, R. R. (2002). Technological change, technological catch-up, and capital deepening relative contributions to growth and convergence. American Economic Review, 92, 527–54.

Liu, Y., Shumway, C. R., Rosenman, R., & Ball, V. E. (2008). Productivity growth and convergence in US agriculture: new cointergration panel data results (Working Paper No.2008-4). School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University.

Maddison, A. (1999). Monitoring the World Economy: 1820-1992. Paris, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Managi, S., & Karemera, D. (2004). Input and output biased technological change in the US agriculture. Apply Economic Litterature, 11, 283–286.

McCunn, A., & Huffman, W. E. (2000). Convergence in US productivity growth for agriculture: implications of interstate research spillovers for funding agricultural research. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 82, 370–388.

Mugera, W., Langemeier, M. R., & Featherstone, A. M. (2012). Labor productivity convergence in the Kansas farm sector: a three-stage procedure using data envelopment analysis and semiparametric regression analysis. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 38, 63–79.

Quah, D. (1993). Galton’s fallacy and tests of the convergence hypothesis. Scand. Journal of Economics, 95(4), 424–443.

Rahman, S. (2007). Regional productivity and convergence in Bangladesh agriculture. The Journal of Developing Areas, 41(1), 221–236.

Solow, R. M. (1956). A contribution to the theory of economic growtn. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70, 65–94.