Finance Seminar with Jacopo Ponticelli, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
The Department of Finance is proud to announce the upcoming seminar with Jacopo Ponticelli, University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Jacopo Ponticelli will present:
Agricultural Productivity and Structural Transformation
Based on the paper:
Authors:
Paula Bustos,CREI, Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Barcelona GSE
Bruno Caprettini,Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Jacopo Ponticelli,University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Abstract:
We study the effects of the adoption of new agricultural technologies on structural transformation. To guide empirical work, we present a simple model where the effect of agriculturalproductivity on industrial development depends on the factor bias of technical change. We testthe predictions of the model by studying the introduction of genetically engineered soybeanseeds in Brazil, which had heterogeneous effects on agricultural productivity across areas withdifferent soil and weather characteristics. We find that technical change in soy production wasstrongly labor saving and lead to industrial growth, as predicted by the model.