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Technical Efficiency, Farm Size and Tropical Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazonian Forest

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  • Sébastien Marchand

    (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - UdA - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract
This paper analyses the impact of farm productivity as well as farm size on deforestation in Brazil. A two step econometric approach is adopted. A bootstrapped translog stochastic frontier that is a posteriori checked for functional consistency is used in order to estimate technical efficiency of which estimates are introduced in a land use model to assess the impact of productivity and farm size on deforestation. Analysis of agricultural census tract data suggests that technical efficiency has a nonlinear (convex) effect: less and more efficient farms use more land for agricultural activities and so they have a positive effect on deforestation. However, the majority of farms are on the ascendant slope so that efficiency implies more deforestation in Brazilian Legal Amazon. Moreover, farm size has a robust negative effect on deforestation. Contrary to many studies, this result suggests that small farms convert more natural (forested) land into agricultural land than large ones.

Suggested Citation

  • Sébastien Marchand, 2011. "Technical Efficiency, Farm Size and Tropical Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazonian Forest," CERDI Working papers halshs-00552981, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:cdiwps:halshs-00552981
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00552981
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