Total factor productivity in the growth of Brazilian agriculture

Abstract

The paper examined the effects of rural credit, research expenditures and agricultural exports on the total factor productivity of Brazilian agriculture for the 1975-2011 periods. The integration and co-integration properties of the time series used in the model, as well as the variance decomposition and the response impulse function were considered in the analysis. The positive signs of the short run estimated coefficients of the model variables are coherent to the undergoing modernization process of Brazilian agriculture. The results showed that the variables are co-integrated, nevertheless, the rural credit and research expenditures long run elasticities were less than one, i.e.,