Working Paper: NBER ID: w15863
Authors: Douglas Gollin; Richard Rogerson
Abstract: A large fraction of Uganda's population continues to earn a living from quasi-subsistence agriculture. This paper uses a static general equilibrium model to explore the relationships between high transportation costs, low productivity, and the size of the quasi-subsistence sector. We parameterize the model to replicate some key features of the Ugandan data, and we then perform a series of quantitative experiments. Our results suggest that the population in quasi-subsistence agriculture is highly sensitive both to agricultural productivity levels and to transportation costs. The model also suggests positive complementarities between improvements in agricultural productivity and transportation.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: O10; O11; O13; O41; Q12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| high transportation costs (L91) | low agricultural productivity (O13) |
| low agricultural productivity (O13) | large quasi-subsistence sector (E26) |
| high transportation costs (L91) | large quasi-subsistence sector (E26) |
| improvements in agricultural productivity (Q16) | decrease in size of quasi-subsistence sector (O17) |
| improvements in agricultural productivity (Q16) | increase in non-agricultural employment (J68) |
| reductions in transportation costs (L91) | reallocations of labor across sectors (J29) |
| improvements in agricultural productivity + reductions in transportation costs (O49) | greater welfare gains (D69) |