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Agricultural Productivity Convergence: Myth or Reality?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2015

Biswo N. Poudel
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Krishna P. Paudel
Affiliation:
Louisiana State University and LSU Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA
David Zilberman
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

Abstract

We tested agricultural productivity convergence in the United States using the state level total factor productivity data and utilizing new estimation and cluster identification methods to identify convergence in the data. The empirical investigation did not indicate any evidence of agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) convergence at the state level. However, we found the evidence of TFP convergence at the regional level for some regions/clusters.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2011

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