Resource Reallocation and Productivity Growth in the Australian Dairy Industry: Implications of Deregulation

Abstract \r\n This paper uses farm-level data to examine resource reallocation in the Australian dairy industry between 1979 and 2013, and assesses the contribution of this process to industry-level productivity growth before and after deregulation reforms were introduced in 2000. We show that deregulation facilitated the reallocation of resources from less efficient farms to more efficient ones, helping to offset the effects of a slowdown in within-farm technological progress on overall productivity growth. Moreover, resource reallocation following the reform mainly involved the movement of resources between farms that use different production systems in different regions, and which therefore have inherently different productivity performance. Further gains in aggregate productivity are likely to be derived mainly from movements of resources among farms that use similar production systems.

摘要
本文利用农场层面数据，考察1979年至2013年间澳大利亚乳业的资源再配置情况，并评估2000年放松管制改革前后，该过程对行业层面生产率增长的贡献。研究结果表明，放松管制推动了资源从低效率农场向高效率农场的配置，有助于抵消农场内部技术进步放缓对整体生产率增长的负面影响。此外，改革后的资源再配置主要发生在不同地区采用不同生产体系的农场之间——这类农场本身的生产率表现存在固有差异。未来整体生产率的进一步提升，或将主要来自采用相似生产体系的农场之间的资源流动。