Economic Journal of Emerging Markets
Volume 13 Issue 1, 2021

The role of agricultural productivity in economic growth in middle-income countries: An empirical investigation

Arif Eser Güzel (Department of Economics, Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkey)
Cemil Serhat Akin (Department of Economics, Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkey)



Article Info

Publish Date
21 Apr 2021

Abstract

Purpose - This study investigates the role of agricultural productivity in economic growth in middle-income countries.Methods - This study utilizes the data of 53 middle-income countries over the period 1991-2017 and provides robust estimations using second-generation panel data methods considering cross-sectional dependency.Findings - The estimation results of the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG), Dynamic-CCEMG, and biased-corrected form of Dynamic-CCEMG, suggest that agricultural productivity is the main engine of economic growth. Additional findings show that economic growth is positively associated with both physical capital and human capital. This paper does not find any significant relationship between trade openness and economic growth.Implications - This study reveals that the industrialization process in middle-income countries to boost economic growth can be accelerated by implementing policies to increase productivity in the agricultural sector.Originality - This study focuses on analyzing the effect of agricultural productivity neglected mainly in recent studies on economic growth. This paper develops a second-generation estimator that considers cross-sectional dependence.

Copyrights © 2021






Journal Info

Abbrev

JEP

Publisher

Subject

Economics, Econometrics & Finance

Description

The Economic Journal of Emerging Markets (EJEM) is a peer-reviewed journal which provides a forum for scientific works pertaining to emerging market economies. Published every April and October, this journal welcomes original research papers on all aspects of economic development issues. The journal ...