Agricultural Productivity and Structural Transformation. Evidence from Brazil

51 Pages Posted: 7 Mar 2014 Last revised: 17 Jun 2015

See all articles by Paula Bustos

Paula Bustos

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Department of Economics and Business; Barcelona GSE

Bruno Caprettini

University of Zurich

Jacopo Ponticelli

Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management; NBER

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: June 1, 2015

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 Productivity, Structural Transformation, Industrial Development, Labor Saving Technical Change, Genetically Engineered Soy

JEL Classification: F16, F43, O14, Q16

Suggested Citation

Bustos, Paula and Caprettini, Bruno and Ponticelli, Jacopo, Agricultural Productivity and Structural Transformation. Evidence from Brazil (June 1, 2015). Chicago Booth Research Paper No. 14-07, Fama-Miller Working Paper , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2405089 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2405089

Paula Bustos

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Department of Economics and Business ( email )

Carrer Ramon Trias Fargas 25
Barcelona, 08005
Spain

HOME PAGE: http://bit.ly/3IUyrEk

Barcelona GSE ( email )

Ramon Trias Fargas, 25-27
Barcelona, Barcelona 08005
Spain

Bruno Caprettini

University of Zurich ( email )

Zürich
Switzerland

Jacopo Ponticelli (Contact Author)

Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management ( email )

2211 Campus Dr
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/ponticelli/index.html

NBER ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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