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Abstract
Leathers (1991) shows that while the existence of allocable fixed inputs can cause joint
production (as in Shumway, Pope and Nash, 1984), it will not necessarily lead to joint
production. The extent to which allocable fixed inputs cause joint production in agriculture
is an empirical question. This paper offers an empirical answer. By estimating a short-run
joint cost function, it is possible to identify levels of outputs for which joint production may
be optimal in the short run but not in the long run. Only in these output regions will there
be jointness caused by allocable fixed inputs. For the data in this paper (160 Wisconsin
farms), these output regions are very small; thus allocable fixed inputs do not appear to be
an important cause of jointness for these farms. Technical causes of jointness appear to be a
significant cause of joint production.