A revolution down on the farm

Sample

Sally H. Clarke

The introduction of New Deal regulation coincided with the start of a revolution in U.S. farm productivity. Compared with small gains in the three decades prior to 1930, farmers after 1935 maintained an exceptionally high rate of productivity growth. In Regulation and the Revolution in United States Farm Productivity, Sally Clarke argues that regulation worked in tandem with farmers' competitive markets to create a dynamic process for productivity growth. Competition, Clarke finds, cannot alone explain the rapid diffusion of technology. Prior to 1930, farmers in the Corn Belt delayed purchases of the tractor, the most important technology, despite the cost savings it promised. Aside from competition, farmers responded to their investment climate, which Clarke defines as the interaction of diverse elements: unstable prices, the structure of farms, and the role of different actors - implement manufacturers, creditors, agricultural researchers. In the 1920s, tractors demanded large sums of cash at a time when farmers' investment climate hampered such financial commitments. As a result, many families delayed purchases and missed potential productivity savings. . The New Deal changed this climate. Regulation stabilized prices, introduced new sources of credit, and caused implement manufacturers and private creditors to revise their business strategies. Despite the Depression, farmers invested in expensive technology and acquired significant new gains in productivity. After the Depression, the rapid growth in productivity entailed drastic changes in the farm sector: a small number of competitors survived but most ultimately quit. Regulation shaped these outcomes. For as long as prices fell after World War II, credit and price regulation helped aggressive farmers invest in land and technology. Ironically, these same policies created conditions under which those who gave up their livelihood rarely experienced foreclosure. Instead, in the 1970s when prices rose, those farmers who remained exposed themselves to a new crisis, which had severe results in the ensuing decade.

Sample

Erh-Cheng Hwa

The paper analyzes the contribution of agriculture to economic growth. By employing cross-section data for the developing and developed countries during 1960-1970 and 1970-1979, it is found that in the context of Mr. Chenery-Syrquin's model intercountry variation in agricultural growth explains a significant portion of intercountry variation in the industrial (non-agricultural) growth. Further, in the context of an aggregate production function agricultural growth is found to contribute significantly to productivity increases and thus to overall economic growth. For the developing countries sample of the 1970-79 period, the results show that a one percent increase in agricultural growth leads to approximately four-tenths of a percentage point increase in productivity. It is also found that export growth contributes positively to productivity growth while the inflation rate contributes negatively.

Sample

Gershon Feder, Lawrence Lau, Roger H. Slade

The paper presents results from a study designed to estimate the effect on agricultural productivity of the Training and Visit Extension System in the Karnal and Kairana Tehsil districts in India. The farm level data show that in Karnal under the T & V system, the extent of farmer interaction with extension agents was greater than in Kairana and that farmers in Karnal viewed the change in the extension system favorably. Moreover, an examination of the rates of knowledge diffusion for a select set of practices for High Yielding Varieties (HYV) of rice and wheat suggests that T & V extension led to a noticeable increase in the rate of knowledge diffusion of several HYV wheat practices. The main thrust of the paper, however, is an analysis of productivity differentials between the two areas for two crops, HYV wheat and rice, and the extent to which any estimated differences can be attributed to the introduction of the T & V extension system. After making adjustments to derive a baseline differential that was consistent with the evidence derived from the detailed farm sample survey undertaken, the final results show that, after three years of T & V extension, there was a gain in productivity for HYV wheat of about 6-7 percent which can be attributed to T & V extension.

Sample

Lillian Faderman

Draws a variety of sources from the writings of Henry James to the Ladies Home Journal to explore 500 years of friendship and love between women and to cast light on shifting female sexuality theories. Winner of the Lambda Literary Award. Reissue.