The Determinants of Changes in Total Factor Productivity of Japanese Agriculture, 1960-90

This study assesses total factor productivity (TFP) growth in Japanese agriculture, and examines the determinants of productivity change. The following results are found: 1) the overall 30-year period can be divided into 3 sub-periods, characterized by a rapid TFP growth in 1960-75, a drastic decrease in 1975-80, and a slow recovery since 1980. 2) TFP in smaller-size farm classes grew faster than that in larger-size ones during most of the period.It is caused mainly by the rapid decrease in working hours in agriculture due to the faster outflow of agricultural labor and a significant increase of part-time farmers in smaller-size ones. 3) The changes of TFP in Japanese agriculture has been greatly influenced by agricultural terms-of-trade, the performance of agricultural cooperatives, the growth of the public expenditure on agriculture, the Paddy-Field Acreage Control Program since 1970, as well as technological changes.