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Abstract
This paper computes and analyses total factor productivity (TFP) growth rates for tropical
agricultural systems in Central-Western Africa and South-East Asia. Two regions that
despite sharing common agro-ecological conditions, have pursued different adoption rates
of green revolution technology and have reported dissimilar yields per hectare. A panel
data set is constructed for the period 1987-2007 from the FAOSTAT database. A
Bayesian stochastic frontier model with country specific temporal variation in technical
efficiency is estimated. Technical efficiency estimates reveal that there is substantial room
for improvement in both continental sub-sets and that TFP estimates show on average
larger rates of growth for South-East Asian countries as compared to Central-Western
African countries. Results indicate that TFP is mostly driven by technical change and
countries such as Benin, and Gambia display catch-up.