Book Description

Although the problems of theory, measurement, and the correct specification of farmer objective functions, discussed in this chapter, all call into question the adequacy of studies of small farmer efficiency based on a profit maximizing behavioral model, nevertheless efficiency may be a worthwhille area of study and profit maximization an acceptable assumptiom. Several empirical studies of resource allocation by small farmers that found their behavior to be consistente with effciency and profit maximization were cited abive in the first section of this chapter. Hence, the empirical evidence tends to indicate that efficieency analysis often produces a model which conformes fairly well to actual farmer behavior. Thus, despite empirical and theoretical compliations which some feel make efficiency analysis of small farmer behavior of dubious merit, it may argued that it is still usefull for policy purposes to investigate issues of resource wastage among small farmers, Efforts to understand whether and why some small farmers produce more than others given the same levls of observed imputs, seen to be particulary important in low income countries where there is substantial concern to maximizede productivity of the available scarce resources. Since the skills of the farm managers may have a substantial influence on their ability to attain efficiency, and since investments in schooling or ...