This paper explores the pattern of agricultural productivity across 19th century Prussia to gain new insights on the causes of the 'Little Divergence' between European regions. We argue that access to urban demand was the dominant factor explaining the gradient of agricultural productivity as...

This research evaluates the impact of the introduction of clover and potatoes on urbanization using a panel of Danish market towns from 1672 to 1901. We find evidence that both clover and potatoes contributed to urbanization using a difference-in-difference type estimation strategy which...

This research tests the long-standing hypothesis put forth by Lynn White, Jr. (1962) that the adoption of the heavy plough in Northern Europe was an important cause of economic development. White argued that it was impossible to take proper advantage of the fertile clay soils of Northern Europe...

The classical view of Bulgaria's failed industrialization prior to the Second World War was established by Alexander Gerschenkron. According to his interpretation, an inherently backward small peasant agriculture and well-organized peasantry not only retarded growth in agriculture but obstructed...

In this article we discuss whether there was a single Latin American pattern of agricultural growth between 1950 and 2008. We analyse the sources of growth of agricultural production and productivity in ten Latin American countries. Our results show that the differences between these countries...

Smallholder farming dominates agriculture in poorer countries. Yet, traditional recall-based surveys on smallholder farming in these countries face challenges with seasonal variations, high survey costs, poor record-keeping, and technical capacity constraints resulting in significant recall...

Agriculture inputs are among the key factors behind agricultural productivity. Many problems, however, still plague policies on agricultural inputs for Indonesian farmers. One is the subsidized fertilizer program, which has turned out to cause a number of problems such as overconsumption of...

Agriculture is neither the largest nor the most effective segment of the Polish economy. However, since its importance goes beyond purely numerical characteristics, it is justified for the State to support it. What is important in this regard, however, is a kind of balance. These measures cannot...

Nucleus-outgrower schemes (NOSs) are supposed to be a particularly effective private-sector mechanism to support smallholder farmers and contribute towards mitigating the problematic aspects of pure large-scale agricultural investments. This discussion paper uses panel household survey data...

The economic effects of global warming have gained considerable attention in recent economic literature. However, the interaction between desertification and agricultural productivity has not received substantial consideration. In this paper, we explore the relationship between soil...