Studies On Estimating The Contribution Rate Of Agricultural Technological Progress In Each Province Of China

Nowadays the contribution rate of agricultural technological progress lacks comparability becausethe calculation indicators and methods are not unified. Based on the reality and rationality of model,thispaper has proposed that regional differences to agricultural technological progress are caused by notonly conventional factors such as capital, labor and land but also the quality of the labor force,agricultural extension and national policy which also play a very important role in the regionalagricultural progress. Taking into account these factors, we have established the translog stochasticfrontier model. Based on the1985-2010provincial panel data, the flexibility of production factors, therate of agricultural technological progress and its contribution rate are calculated, also these results arecompared and analyzed.The results in this paper show that the growth rate of the agricultural technological progress inevery province of China is steady, but due to large difference in the growth rate of agricultural output,the contribution rate of agricultural technological progress has different degrees of volatility, howeverthe general trend witnesses the strong growth of China’s agriculture. Compared with the contributionrate, the rate of agricultural technological progress plays a more independent and objective role inevaluating technological progress in the economic growth. In future research in this area can beincreased; In1986the contribution rate of China’s agricultural technological progress is44.75%and68.15%in2010.During the entire study period, the contribution rate of China’s agriculturaltechnological progress has increased by23%,once again technological progress proves to be thecontinuous driving force to agricultural growth; behind the growth trend of the contribution rate oftechnological advances in agriculture is the unbalanced growth of the contribution rate in differentprovinces. For regions who has a higher level of economic development, agricultural productionconditions are relatively good, contribution rate of agricultural technology progress has showed adownward trend in recent years while in the relatively backward provinces of the western region, thecontribution rate of agricultural rate is higher. In addition, compared the results in which the quality ofthe labor force and the national policy are included to those in which the quality of the labor force andthe national policy are not included, we find that after adjustment the rate of technological progress invarious provinces are in sharp decline. So the contribution rate of agricultural technological progressis suspected overrated in the general practice of estimating the contribution rate of agriculturaltechnological progress.Based on these research results, policy recommendations are as follows: First, improve the qualityof agricultural laborers, further popularize nine-year compulsory education in rural areas, vigorouslydevelop adult vocational education and carry out various forms of training for farmers; Second, the stateand local governments need to increase investment in agricultural research to ensure enough funds thatagricultural research needs. We also should encourage social capital to enter the field of agriculturalresearch, solve the problem of insufficient funds, social funds also can get rewarded;Third, to adopt different policies for central and western regions, the eastern region should pay particular attention tothe protection of the ecological environment and achieve sustainable development of agriculture, in thecentral and western regions, national policies should be tilted to increase investment in agriculture,improve infrastructure and increase agricultural productivity.