The Efficiency of Labor Input in the Tree Nut Growers Industry: A Stochastic Frontier Production Approach Study in Butte County, California
| dc.creator | Chang, Kuo-Liang | |
| dc.creator | Lone, Todd A. | |
| dc.date | 2017-04-01T14:16:30Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-09T05:01:08Z | |
| dc.description | The U.S. government recruits immigrant workers through the H-2A program as a short-term solution to the agricultural sectors’ labor shortage problem. Although the sector insists hiring immigrant workers is essential for their survival, history has proven the socio-economic cost for doing so is enormous. This paper aims to investigate the contribution of labor to agricultural production efficiency. A discussion of marginal rate of technical substitution, economies of scale, and economies of scope will also be included. The stochastic production frontier regression approach was applied to input/output data collected from a survey of tree nut growers in Butte County, California. Results indicate the labor input is not significant in deciding farm production efficiency. Instead of attempting to increase short-term labor, producers’ and policy makers’ efforts should be directed toward improving the logistics of farm management and the quality of labor, thus more efficiently utilizing available resources. | |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.22004/ag.econ.56335 | |
| dc.identifier | https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/56335/files/labor%20efficiency%20paper%20of%20labor%20input%20in%20the%20tree%20nut%20growerts%20industry%200112a.pdf | |
| dc.identifier | http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/56335 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/557866 | |
| dc.language | eng | |
| dc.publisher | ||
| dc.source | http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/56335 | |
| dc.title | The Efficiency of Labor Input in the Tree Nut Growers Industry: A Stochastic Frontier Production Approach Study in Butte County, California | |
| dc.type | Text |