Determinants of product and of total factor productivity in Brazilian agriculture

Abstract

This paper develops an analysis of the impacts caused by the most relevant variables on gross domestic product (GDP) and on total factor productivity (TFP) in agriculture along the period 1974 and 2005. The following factors are considered determinants of economic growth: investments in transport, electric energy, research, irrigation, and agricultural storage infrastructures, besides in rural credit and agricultural worker education. The analysis is carried out by means of cointegration by the Johansen method, and the results indicate that education and infrastructure investments keep positive relations with the agriculture’s product and productivity. Conversely, cointegration relations between rural credit and product and Brazilian agricultural productivity are not detected.