Total Factor Productivity Growth and its Determinants for West Bengal Agriculture

The present study is concerned with the measurement of total factor productivity growth (TFPG) using the non-parametric approach for seven major crops--aus, aman, boro, jute, wheat, rapeseed-mustard, and potato--in West Bengal, from 1980 to 2003. TFPG is decomposed into the components of technical change, efficiency change, and scale change. A second stage regression analysis highlights the favorable role of factors (i.e., public expenditure, credit, irrigation, regulated markets, and inequality reduction in the distribution of operational land holdings) in fostering TFPG.