| This study was an attempt, first, to analyze the nature and process of technical change and its effects on the economics of Korean rice production and, second, to draw some practical conclusions about the relevance of the induced innovation hypothesis to the Korean rice economy. Specifically, this study aimed at (a) measuring the changes in rice output, inputs and productivity, (b) exploring the relation between factor use and factor price ratios, (c) analyzing the process of technical change in relation to the price of rice, and (d) identifying the sources of productivity growth in the Korean rice economy during the period 1963-1984.The experimental data and aggregate farm survey data show that the contrasting patterns of productivity growth and factor uses in Korean rice production can be understood as a process of dynamic adjustment to changing factor prices indeed, the statistical regression analysis confirms the finding that in rice farming the changes in factor use are due to changes in factor prices.In addition, the empirical results indicate that as well as the strong government pressure to achieve the food self-sufficiency target, economic incentives contributed significantly to bringing about the use of such factors as fertilizer and machinery, which made the increased rice yields possible. Specific causal factors in the change in productivity growth were identified by the use of regression analyses. It appears that research and agricultural extension services are closely associated with growth in rice production in Korea. Furthermore, despite the highly centralized management of its organization, the Korean Office of Rural Development has developed effective rice research resource allocation through articulation and decentralization.The conclusion of this study is that the process of technical change in the Korean rice economy may be interpreted as consistent with the induced innovation hypothesis.The results of the study indicate that since the early 1960's the Korean government has sought to increase the growth rates of both land and labor productivity through technical change in rice production and structural change in the economic environment. |
