Empirical analysis on economies of scale and scope for farmers' professional cooperatives in western region——Based on the data of Xinjiang

In this paper, the Generalized Translog Cost Function and SUR method were used to calculate the sample cooperatives economies of scale and economies of scope based on sectional data of 68 planting farmers' cooperatives in four regions and two autonomous of Xinjiang in 2010-2012. The results showed that the cooperatives had small overall economies of scale and significant economies of scope; leading products, fertilizers and plastic for agriculture sheeting had significant product-specific economies of scale, and five kinds of output had significant product-specific economies of scope. Finally, based on the measurement results, combined with the development of farmer cooperatives in the western region, the author provided several policy recommendations for the relevant government departments and cooperatives policymakers.