Jean-Paul Chavas (University of Wisconsin) On the Microeconomics of Specialization: An Application to Agriculture

Speaker:  Jean-Paul Chavas - University of Wisconsin
  Monday, April 27, 2015 at 12:30 PM Aula Menegazzi, Palazzo di Economia
This paper investigates the microeconomics of specialization and its effects on firm productivity. We define economies of specialization as the productivity gains obtained under greater specialization. The paper shows how scale effects and non-convex technology affect economies of specialization. Using a nonparametric approach, we present an empirical analysis applied to Korean farms. The results indicate that non-convexity is prevalent especially on large farms. We find that non-convexity generates large productivity benefits from specialization on larger farms (but not on smaller farms), providing a strong incentive for large farms to specialize. We evaluate the linkages between non-convexity, firm size and management. 
 
Title Format  (Language, Size, Publication date)
Jean-Paul Chavas  pdfpdf (en, 622 KB, 23/03/15)

Programme Director
Marcella Veronesi

External reference
Marcella Veronesi

Publication date
January 26, 2015

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