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German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA) >
51st Annual Conference, Halle, Germany, September 28-30, 2011 >
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://purl.umn.edu/115361
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| Title: | WHY ARE FARMS GETTING LARGER? THE CASE OF THE U.S. |
| Authors: | MacDonald, James M. |
| Issue Date: | 2011 |
| Abstract: | Agricultural production continues to shift to larger farms in the U.S. I show that the shift
is persistent over time, large, and ubiquitous across commodities. I review theories of
farm size, and classify three channels for analysis: 1) scale effects, through technological
economies and managerial diseconomies; 2) the roles of relative factor prices and factor
shares; and 3) policy and institutions. Finally, I evaluate the empirical evidence on the
forces driving structural change, distinguishing between crops and livestock because of
important differences in the role of scale economies and coordination, and I offer some
directions for the future. |
| URI: | http://purl.umn.edu/115361 |
| Institution/Association: | German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA)>51st Annual Conference, Halle, Germany, September 28-30, 2011 |
| Total Pages: | 48 |
| Collections: | 51st Annual Conference, Halle, Germany, September 28-30, 2011
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Files in This Item:
| File |
Description |
Size | Format |
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| MacDonald.pdf | Main paper | 310Kb | PDF | View/Open |
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