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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />!'l .".' "I'.l'" <br />'>',i,,),;..J.,)-1 <br /> <br />Technology <br /> <br />The primary job of the Constant Price Suppl y component is to compute <br />the agricul tural productivity index and the resul tant national aggregate <br />supply shifter for the Aggregate Farm Output component. Productivity meas- <br />ures the technical efficiency with which resources are converted to commod- <br />ities and services. Land, labor, fertil izer, machinery, insecticides, <br />seeds, energy, and other capital inputs are used to produce food and fiber <br />for human consumption. Agricultural productivity measures how effectively <br />farmers combine these resources. Increased agricultural productivity ena- <br />bles a farmer to produce more food. and fiber with the same amount of <br /> <br />resources. <br /> <br />There are two types of productivity: partial productivity and total <br /> <br /> <br />factor productivity. The ratio of output to a single input is called the <br /> <br /> <br />partial productivity of that input, and the ratio of output to all inputs <br /> <br /> <br />combined is call ed total factor, or mul tifactor productivity. <br /> <br />Labor productivity is a popular measure of productivity because labor <br />is one of the most important production factors, data on man-hours are <br />readily available, and the partial productivity index is simple to compute <br />and easy to comprehend. The familiar 'how many people a farmer can <br />support' is labor productivity. <br /> <br />II-9 <br />