Convergence in Us and EU Agriculture
Posted: 27 Jul 2000
Abstract
This paper finds strong and robust evidence of convergence of labour productivity in agriculture across all US states and 11 EU countries during 1970-1992. Moreover, off-farm migration has a positive effect on the speed of convergence, especially in the EU. Holding the off-farm migration rate constant, the speed of convergence for EU countries (2.9 per cent per year) is stronger than for US states (1.9 per cent per year). A convergence speed of 2.9 per cent means that an EU country needs about 10 years to eliminate one-quarter of the gap between its initial output per worker and its own steady state, and half a century to eliminate three-quarters of the gap.
Keywords: Growth, Labour Productivity, Convergence, Migration
JEL Classification: Q12, Q47, R11, R23
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