Abstract
Agricultural productivity in 41 Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries from 1960 to 1999 is examined by estimating a semi-nonparametric Fourier production frontier. Over the four decades the estimated rate of productivity change was 0.83% per year, although the average rate from 1985 to 1999 was a strong 1.90% per year. Former UK colonies exhibited significantly higher productivity gains than others, while Liberia and countries that had been colonies of Portugal or Belgium exhibited net reductions in productivity. We measure a significant reduction in productivity during political conflicts and wars, and a significant increase in productivity among those countries with higher levels of political rights and civil liberties.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 169-180 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Agricultural Economics |
Volume | 31 |
Issue number | 2-3 SPEC. ISS. |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2004 |
Keywords
- Agricultural productivity
- Fourier functional form
- Institutions
- Stochastic frontier
- Sub-Saharan Africa
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agronomy and Crop Science
- Economics and Econometrics