Agricultural Productivity, Technological Change, and Deforestation: A Global Analysis

This study takes advantages of recent developments in measuring total factor productivity in output specific directions to examine the influence of technological change in different agricultural sectors on land-use decisions in a cross-section of countries from 1969 to 2001. Results demonstrate a positive relationship between productivity and land in agriculture in most cases. The ruminant sector is an exception where an increase in productivity was negatively associated with amount of pastureland. The analysis also includes variables that have been found to be important determinants in other studies of land-use change. Population is clearly the dominant factor over the time period analyzed, although it is argued that other factors are likely to become more important in upcoming years since population growth has slowed significantly in many countries.