Agricultural Productivity and Structural Transformation: Evidence from Brazil
Paula Bustos, Bruno Caprettini, Jacopo Ponticelli
American Economic Review · 2016 · Volume 106 · Issue 6
Abstract
We study the effects of the adoption of new agricultural technologies on structural transformation. To guide empirical work, we present a simple model where the effect of agricultural productivity on industrial development depends on the factor-bias of technical change. We test the predictions of the model by studying the introduction of genetically engineered soybean seeds in Brazil, which had heterogeneous effects on agricultural productivity across areas with different soil and weather characteristics. We find that technical change in soy production was strongly labor-saving and led to industrial growth, as predicted by the model.
Keywords
Agricultural Labor Markets, Economic Development: Agriculture, Natural Resources, Energy, Environment, Other Primary Products, Industrialization, Manufacturing and Service Industries, Choice of Technology, Technological Change: Choices and Consequences, Diffusion Processes, Land Ownership and Tenure, Land Reform, Land Use, Irrigation, Agriculture and Environment, Agricultural R&D, Agricultural Technology, Biofuels, Agricultural Extension Services
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