TY - JOUR
T1 - Trade, farmers’ heterogeneity, and agricultural productivity
T2 - Evidence from Colombia
AU - Gáfaro, Margarita
AU - Pellegrina, Heitor S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2022/7
Y1 - 2022/7
N2 - This paper studies how farmers’ participation in non-local markets shapes agricultural productivity. Using farm-level data from Colombia, we document two empirical patterns about the spatial organization of agriculture. First, across municipalities, better access to urban centers increases farmers’ productivity and participation in non-local markets, but reduces farm size. Second, within municipalities and crop-choices, larger farms participate more in non-local markets and have higher productivity. To rationalize these patterns, we introduce farmers with heterogeneous productivity and market participation choices into a spatial economy model. We take the model to data and find that removing the geographic barriers to farmers’ participation in non-local markets can increase Colombia's agricultural value added by up to 14%. Changes in the productivity composition of farmers contribute substantially to this impact, particularly in remote regions with low participation of farmers in non-local markets.
AB - This paper studies how farmers’ participation in non-local markets shapes agricultural productivity. Using farm-level data from Colombia, we document two empirical patterns about the spatial organization of agriculture. First, across municipalities, better access to urban centers increases farmers’ productivity and participation in non-local markets, but reduces farm size. Second, within municipalities and crop-choices, larger farms participate more in non-local markets and have higher productivity. To rationalize these patterns, we introduce farmers with heterogeneous productivity and market participation choices into a spatial economy model. We take the model to data and find that removing the geographic barriers to farmers’ participation in non-local markets can increase Colombia's agricultural value added by up to 14%. Changes in the productivity composition of farmers contribute substantially to this impact, particularly in remote regions with low participation of farmers in non-local markets.
KW - Agricultural productivity
KW - Farmers’ heterogeneity
KW - Trade
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85125961269&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jinteco.2022.103598
DO - 10.1016/j.jinteco.2022.103598
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85125961269
SN - 0022-1996
VL - 137
JO - Journal of International Economics
JF - Journal of International Economics
M1 - 103598
ER -