Transportation Costs and Brazilian Agricultural Production : 1970 - 1996

The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of transportation costs on the Brazilian agricultural production from 1970 to 1996. The nature of the impacts of transportation on agriculture production are discussed and provide the basis for the specification and estimation of an econometric production function using panel-data of five census years at the municipal level. Using geographical information system mapping, the paper presents evidence of the magnitude of the impact of inter-regional transportation costs on production in space and time. The substitution and complementary relationships between transportation and selected factors of production and production choices are also analyzed