Determinants of total factor productivity in Indian agriculture

Abstract

Past literature shows that technical change in agriculture is determined by non-price factors like government expenditure on R and D and infrastructure. But more recent literature also considers relative farm prices that would provide incentives for technical change. This has been reinforced by the present policy in the wake of reforms that reduce protection to trade and industry for advocating its prime role for technical change. This paper therefore develops a more comprehensive framework of price and non-price factors for studying this change. Among the non-price factors it separately considers government investment in R and D, inputs, credit, rural literacy, and marketing and banking infrastructure density in addition to land reforms.