No abstract

This paper describes production accounts for agriculture. Output is defined as gross production leaving the farm as opposed to real value added. Inputs are not limited to capital and labor but include intermediate inputs as well. We derive index numbers of gross output, capital, labor, and intermediate inputs. These data are used to construct indexes of total factor productivity. We then compare the contributions of input growth and productivity growth to economic growth. The important role of productivity growth in agriculture becomes immediately apparent. Copyright 1997, Oxford University Press.

The structural transformation of agriculture in recent decades has raised serious concerns about the future of the family farm. This study examines the economic performance of U.S. farms, to explore the potential of smaller farms to compete with larger entities, and ultimately to survive in this rapidly changing environment. We use deterministic and stochastic frontier methods and survey data to measure and evaluate factors underlying scale economies (SEC) and efficiency (SEF) of corn-belt farms for 1996-2001. Our results suggest that family farms are both scale and technically inefficient. Potential for the exploitation of significant scale and scope economies, and some greater technical efficiency, seem to be driving trends toward increased farm size and dwindling competitiveness of the small family farm. JEL Classification: O3, O13

This article analyzes farmers' choices of crop insurance contracts and offers empirical evidence of adverse selection in crop insurance markets. Farmers' risk characteristics, their level of income, and the cost of insurance significantly affect the choice of yield and revenue insurance products as well as the selection of alternative coverage levels. Empirical analysis indicates that high-risk farmers are more likely to select revenue insurance contracts and higher coverage levels. Results show that low-risk farmers are overcharged and high-risk farmers are undercharged for comparable insurance contracts, implying informational asymmetries in the crop insurance market.

Based on a large-scale survey in 11 cities, this study employs probit and logit models to estimate the effects of various explanatory variables on the likelihood of biotech food acceptance in China. Analyses focus on biotech soybean oil, input-and output-trait biotech rice, and livestock products fed with biotech corn.