AGRICULTURAL GROWTH THROUGH LABOR-TRANSFERS: THE EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, POPULATION CONTROL AND EXPORT EXPANSION (ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, DUALITY THEORY, NIGERIA, ARGENTINA, PHILIPPINES)

Developing nations are experiencing difficulty obtaining foreign capital. This study tests whether population control measures, programs to promote labor-intensive, bio-chemical agriculture, and/or promotion of agricultural exports can reduce the capital investment needed to achieve self-sustaining growth.;Results highlight that labor redundance is not a purely demographic phenomenon. Rather, it is a technological outcome. Thus, a country which initially is considered underpopulated and resource-abundant, such as Argentina, may through mechanization assume characteristics of a resource-deficient and overpopulated country. Likewise, a resource-deficient, overpopulated nation such as the Philippines, may, through bio-chemical technologies, assume characteristics of a resource-rich, underpopulated country.;The study contributes to development theory by deriving a formula that relates the fraction of the labor force that can remain in agriculture when the economy achieves self-sustained growth to the initial fraction of labor in agriculture, the net transfer rate of labor from agriculture to industry and the planned or targeted year for achieving self-sustained growth.;A two-sector model originally developed by Ranis and Fei is modified and applied to the empirical cases of Nigeria, Argentina and the Philippines. Results support the hypothesis that labor-biased, bio-chemical agricultural technologies are most effective in reducing capital needs, followed by population control and increased agricultural exports.