@article{Hughes:100563,
      recid = {100563},
      author = {Hughes, Neal and Lawson, Kenton and Davidson, Alistair and  Jackson, Tom and Sheng, Yu},
      title = {Productivity pathways: climate-adjusted production  frontiers for the Australian broadacre cropping industry},
      address = {2011},
      number = {422-2016-26937},
      pages = {33},
      year = {2011},
      abstract = {This study introduces two advances to the aggregate  productivity index methodology typically employed by  ABARES. First, it accounts for the effects of climate  variability on measured productivity by matching spatial  climate data to individual farms in the ABARES farm surveys  database. Second, a farm-level production frontier  estimation technique is employed to facilitate the  decomposition of productivity change into several key  components, including technical change and technical  efficiency change. The study makes use of farm-level data  from the ABARES Australian agricultural and grazing  industries survey database. An unbalanced panel dataset is  constructed containing 13 430 observations (4255 farms)  over the period 1977–78 to 2007–08. Spatial climate data,  including winter and summer seasonal rainfall and average  maximum and minimum temperatures, were obtained via the  Australian Water Availability Project. These data were  mapped to individual farms using Geographic Information  System methods. The study employed stochastic frontier  analysis methods to estimate a production frontier with  time varying technical efficiency effects of the form  proposed by Battese and Coelli (1992). Production frontiers  are estimated for each of the three major Grains Research  and Development Corporation regions: southern, northern and  western. Selected climate variables are shown to display a  high degree of explanatory power over farm output. The  results confirm that deterioration in average climate  conditions has contributed significantly to the decline in  estimated productivity over the post-2000 period. Technical  change is shown to be the primary driver of productivity  growth in the industry in the long run, offset by a gradual  decline in technical efficiency. After controlling for  climate variability, a gradual decline in the rate of  technical change is still observed.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/100563},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.100563},
}