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: Agricultural Productivity and Structural Transformation. Evidence from Brazil

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 agricultural productivity on industrial development depends on the factor bias of technical change. We test the predictions of the model by studying the introduction of genetically engineered soybean seeds in Brazil, which had heterogeneous effects on agricultural productivity across areas with different soil and weather characteristics. We find that technical change in soy production was strongly labor saving and lead to industrial growth, as predicted by the model.