Mismeasurement and efficiency estimates : Evidence from smallholder survey data in Africa

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cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Food Policy Research Instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Institute of Tropical Agricultureen
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Maize and Wheat Improvement Centeren
cg.contributor.donorBill & Melinda Gates Foundationen
cg.contributor.donorCGIAR Trust Funden
cg.contributor.initiativeExcellence in Agronomy
cg.coverage.regionSub-Saharan Africa
cg.creator.identifierKibrom Abay: 0000-0003-1451-2421
cg.creator.identifierJordan Chamberlin: 0000-0001-9522-3001
cg.howPublishedFormally Publisheden
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12514en
cg.identifier.projectIFPRI - Development Strategies and Governance Unit
cg.identifier.publicationRankB
cg.isijournalISI Journalen
cg.issn0021-857Xen
cg.issn1477-9552en
cg.issue2en
cg.journalJournal of Agricultural Economicsen
cg.placeUnited States of Americaen
cg.reviewStatusPeer Reviewen
cg.subject.actionAreaResilient Agrifood Systems
cg.subject.impactAreaPoverty reduction, livelihoods and jobs
cg.volume74en
dc.contributor.authorAbay, Kibrom A.en
dc.contributor.authorWossen, Tesfamichaelen
dc.contributor.authorChamberlin, Jordanen
dc.date.accessioned2023-04-12T18:17:41Zen
dc.date.available2023-04-12T18:17:41Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/129959
dc.titleMismeasurement and efficiency estimates : Evidence from smallholder survey data in Africaen
dcterms.abstractSmallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is commonly characterised by high levels of technical inefficiency. However, much of this characterisation relies on self-reported input and production data, which are prone to systematic measurement error. We show theoretically that non-classical measurement error introduces multiple identification challenges and sources of bias in estimating smallholders' technical inefficiency. We then empirically examine the implications of measurement error for the estimation of technical inefficiency using smallholder farm survey data from Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania. We find that measurement error in agricultural input and production data leads to a substantial upward bias in technical inefficiency estimates (by up to 85% for some farmers). Our results suggest that existing estimates of technical efficiency in sub-Saharan Africa may be severe underestimates of smallholders' actual efficiency and what is commonly attributed to farmer inefficiency may be an artefact of mismeasurement in agricultural data. Our results raise questions about the received wisdom on African smallholders' production efficiency and prior estimates of the productivity of agricultural inputs. Improving the measurement of agricultural data can improve our understanding of smallholders' production efficiencies and improve the targeting of productivity-enhancing technologies.en
dcterms.accessRightsLimited Access
dcterms.available2022-09-22
dcterms.bibliographicCitationAbay, K. A., Wossen, T., & Chamberlin, J. (2022). Mismeasurement and efficiency estimates: Evidence from smallholder survey data in Africa. Journal of Agricultural Economics 74(2): 413-434. https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12514en
dcterms.extentpp. 413-434en
dcterms.issued2023-06
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCopyrighted; all rights reserved
dcterms.publisherWileyen
dcterms.subjectcropsen
dcterms.subjectdna fingerprintingen
dcterms.subjectmeasurementen
dcterms.subjectfield sizeen
dcterms.subjectsmallholdersen
dcterms.subjectsurveysen
dcterms.subjectdataen
dcterms.typeJournal Article

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