Considering Technical and Allocative Efficiency in the Inverse Farm Size–Productivity Relationship
利用尼加拉瓜全国代表性面板数据，通过四阶段实证框架同时检验农场规模与生产率反向关系的竞争性解释，发现效率差异影响显著但不足以排除劳动力市场不完善的主导作用。
Abstract In the leading explanations for the oft‐observed inverse relationship (IR) between farm size and productivity in developing country agriculture, labour market imperfections have commonly occupied a central role. However, an emerging literature suggests that disparities in technical or allocative efficiency may be driving productivity differentials. Using nationally‐representative panel data from Nicaragua, we develop and employ a four‐stage empirical framework to simultaneously test the competing explanations for the IR. While efficiency differences exert a significant impact on all productivity indicators, their explanatory power is insufficient to rule out labour market imperfections as the driving force behind the relationship.