Seeking for convergence in the agricultural sector performance under the changes of Uruguay round and 1992 CAP reform

Abstract

This paper builds on the knowledge generated by the past studies on agricultural convergence and extends it in order to provide a more holistic analysis in geographical terms, and a more detailed analysis of the aspects that shape the overall performance of the countries. The paper adopts a global scale of analysis and assesses convergence in terms of value generation, energy efficiency, and technical efficiency. To do so, analysis is based on a series of regression models in order to examine if the policy changes that occurred in the beginning of the 1990s promoted the convergence of the agricultural sector's performance across the globe. Two main types of convergence were tested. The first refers to the σ-convergence and the second type is this of β-convergence. The lack of any type of convergence regarding the generated value across countries around the globe has shown that the liberalization of the market has not brought about any substantial improvements in the position of the weakest countries. On the other side, a convergence of both σ and β type has been found for the energy efficiency of the countries. That is, it resulted in improvements in their energy efficiency. Policy changes of the early 1990s have substantially improved the position of the weakest countries. There was also a positive effect on the productivity of vegetable cultivations whilst it seems that they have slowed down a strong convergence process for fruit productivity.