Precision agriculture technology adoption and technical efficiency
利用2016年美国农业部农业资源管理调查数据，通过聚类分析和随机前沿分析，发现采纳先进精准农业技术组合的农场技术效率显著高于未采纳者，且效率差异源于农场层面的投入使用效率而非生产技术异质性。
Abstract We explore the relationship between precision agriculture (PA) technology adoption and technical efficiency using the 2016 USDA Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). Efficiency gains from PA are likely cumulative, that is, the true impact of precision farming depends on the integration of complementary tools. To examine the efficiency benefits of different PA bundles, we perform a two‐step analysis. First, we use cluster analysis to identify distinct producer groups based on patterns in PA technology adoption. These producer groups map naturally onto the classic technology adoption curve (laggards, late majority, early majority, innovators). Second, we use stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and stochastic meta‐frontier analysis (SMFA) to estimate differences in technical efficiency between PA adoption groups. We find that farms with advanced PA technology bundles are significantly more technically efficient than non‐adopters. Differences in technical efficiency are not found to be driven by heterogeneous production technologies, but rather inefficiencies in input usage at the farm level. Our results have strong implications for farm consolidation in US agriculture.