Diversification economies in dairy farming – empirical evidence from Germany
利用德国巴伐利亚州奶牛场2000-2014年的数据，研究农场规模如何影响多样化带来的经济效益，发现小农场在牛奶与畜牧生产间多样化更受益，大农场则在牛奶与作物生产间多样化更受益。
Abstract This article explores how farm size is related to economic benefits from diversification. Using a data set pertaining to Bavarian dairy farms (2000–2014), we estimate an input distance function (IDF) to derive cost complementarities between distinct outputs. A Bayesian estimation technique is used to improve the theoretical consistency of the IDF. The results show that small dairy farms are more likely to benefit from diversification between milk and livestock production, while larger farms tend to benefit from diversification between milk and crop production. Both managerial and policy implications are discussed.