Productivity in the Agricultural Sector: A Global Outlook from a Latin American Perspective

Abstract

Agricultural productivity has been the focus of intense scrutiny since the time of Adam Smith. In this article, we focus on agricultural productivity from two perspectives. First, we provide estimates of total factor productivity (TFP) growth for a panel of 79 countries over a period of approximately 60 years. Second, we investigated the potential determinants of productivity growth, which include infrastructure, macroeconomic variables, and variables related to climate change. We find that productivity varies greatly across countries, with leading countries showing annual agricultural productivity growth between 2% and 3%. In regards to productivity determinants, we find small within-country effects but significant between-country effects.