Decomposition of climate-induced productivity growth in Indian agriculture

Mohapatra, Souryabrata and Sharp, Basil and Sahoo, Auro Kumar and Sahoo, Dukhabandhu (2022): Decomposition of climate-induced productivity growth in Indian agriculture. Published in: Environmental Challenges , Vol. 7, No. 100494 (2022)

Abstract

This paper adopts a stochastic frontier approach to investigate the trend and determinants of total factor produc- tivity (TFP) growth in the agriculture sector of India, using extensive district-level data. The assessment of the production frontier highlights the efficiency aspect of Indian agriculture and contributes to an analysis of those factors that might be directly engaged in the production process. After controlling for the district-specific climatic effect in the production of eighteen major crops, TFP growth is deconstructed into technical progress, technical efficiency change and scale effects. Four weather parameters, average temperature, rainfall, evapotranspiration and windspeed, are defined as exogenous determinants of the technical inefficiency term to analyze the influence of changing climate. Based on the true fixed effect model and maximum likelihood method, the estimated TFP growth averaged 0.688% per year between 1990 and 2015. The relative performance of Indian states appar- ently differs according to estimated productivity scores. The findings show that changes in technical efficiency account for most TFP growth, whereas differences in scale components account for annual and cross-state pro- ductivity growth disparities. The study suggests that region-specific policies are required to enhance agricultural productivity and add to the understanding of the arguments over TFP growth in Indian agriculture.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Stochastic frontier analysis; Total factor productivity decomposition; True fixed effect model; Agricultural productivity growth; India
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C2 - Single Equation Models ; Single Variables > C23 - Panel Data Models ; Spatio-temporal Models; D - Microeconomics > D2 - Production and Organizations > D24 - Production ; Cost ; Capital ; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity ; Capacity; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O47 - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth ; Aggregate Productivity ; Cross-Country Output Convergence; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q15 - Land Ownership and Tenure ; Land Reform ; Land Use ; Irrigation ; Agriculture and Environment

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