The Contribution of Wheat to Australian Agriculture from 1861 to 1939. (13th June 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Banerjee, Rajabrata; Shanahan, Martin
• Is Part Of: Australian economic history review. Volume 56:Number 2(2016:Jul.)
• Page Start: 125
• Page End: 150
• Publication Date: 2016-06-13
• Subjects: agricultural productivity -- productivity -- technology -- wheat; Economic history -- Periodicals; Australia -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; New Zealand -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; 330
• DOI: 10.1111/aehr.12102
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0004-8992

Abstract

Abstract : The influence of agriculture on Australia's nineteenth and twentieth century economic development is well known. While wool's contribution is rightly celebrated, the contribution of agricultural crops has received less attention. This paper focuses on one major staple, wheat, from 1861 to 1939. Both patent data and a new measure of technological progress, the cumulative number of wheat varieties tested for local adoption, are used to quantify the contribution of agricultural innovation to growth. We find innovation in this sector made an important contribution to the growth of total factor productivity over the period.