Sources of Growth in French Agriculture

Growth of French agriculture is addressed with production disaggregated among cereals, noncereal crops, milk, and animal products. Short-run and long-run supply functions are derived from a restricted profit function model in which capital and family labor are assumed quasi-fixed and measures of French public agricultural research expenditures and international technology availability are included. Production is found to be price responsive, but the estimated supply functions are inelastic even when the quasi-fixed factors adjust optimally. Technical change as a source of output growth is also supported. Domestic research is estimated to be the primary cause of increased cereals output over the 1960–84 period, while international technology transfers and domestic research seem to be important for milk production.