Abstract
The paper measures the total factor productivity (TFP), technical change (TC) and technical efficiency change (TEC) in rice production, and traces the impact of market reform policies of the 1990s on these indices at the farm level in Bangladesh using a unique cohort of three-period panel data (1987, 2000 and 2004) of 73 farms by applying stochastic production frontier approach. Results reveal that the TFP index has increased by 27% largely due to an upward shift of the technology frontier. Although TC has increased by an impressive 57%, TEC declined by 30.1% during the post-reform period, thereby depressing overall TFP growth. The market liberalization policies exerted significantly positive impacts on TC and TFP growth but negatively on TEC. Farm size and household size also significantly improved these indices while education, tenancy and off-farm income exerted negative effects. Policy implications include continued liberalization of markets and land reform measures to increase farm size. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.
DOI
10.1080/13547860.2014.908533
Publication Date
2014-06-02
Publication Title
Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy
Volume
19
Issue
3
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
ISSN
1354-7860
Embargo Period
2024-11-25
First Page
391
Last Page
408
Recommended Citation
Alam, M., Begum, I., Rahman, S., Buysse, J., & Huylenbroeck, G. (2014) 'Tracing the impact of market reform on productivity growth of rice at the farm level in Bangladesh', Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 19(3), pp. 391-408. Taylor & Francis: Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13547860.2014.908533
