01981cas a2200253 a 4500 AALejournalIMF019512 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781498326636 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Alvarez, Jorge. Crop Selection and International Differences in Aggregate Agricultural Productivity / Jorge Alvarez, Claudia Berg. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2019. 1 online resource (35 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students A large share of cross-country differences in productivity is explained by differences in agricultural productivity. Using a combination of sub-national agricultural statistics and geospatial datasets on crop-specific potential yields, we study the main drivers of this variation from a macroeconomic perspective. We find that differences in geographically-induced crop-specific comparative advantages can explain a substantial share of the variation in yields across the world. Data reveal substantial gaps between potential and observed yields in most countries. When decomposing these within country gaps, we find that crop selection gaps are on average larger than those induced by input usage alone. The results highlight the importance of understanding the interaction of geography and crop selection drivers in assessing aggregate agricultural productivity differences. Mode of access: Internet Berg, Claudia. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2019/179 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2019/179/001.2019.issue-179-en.xml IMF e-Library