The Impact of Agricultural Labor Aging on Productivity of Labor-Intensive Agricultural Products ——An Empirical Analysis Based on 745 Apple Farmer Households of Shaanxi and Gansu Province
QIAO Zhi-xia1,2,3, HUO Xue-xi1,2, ZHANG Bao-wen1,2
1.College of Economics & Management, Northwest A& F University,Yangling 712100, China; 2.Center of Western Rural Development, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; 3.College of Finance and Economics, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Abstract：
Based on data of 745 apple farmer households of Shaanxi and Gansu province, this paper studies the influence of agricultural labor aging on the productivity of labor-intensive agricultural products by using DEA-Tobit model. Results show that: The productivity of apple farmer household production efficiency is as low as 0.476; The main reasons are low pure technical efficiency, excessive amount of labor input and limited effect of modern productive factors; With the age group of 50-54 as a threshold, the relationship between decision-makers’ age and productivity presents an inverted-U shape, increasing first and decreasing after the threshold age, which shows that the degree of family aging negatively affects productivity. Therefore, to offset the negative influence of agricultural labor aging on productivity, a number of measures should be combined, such as enhancing the R&D of labor-saving technology, promoting land transfer, investing in farmers, improving infrastructure and financial support etc.
QIAO Zhi-xia, HUO Xue-xi, ZHANG Bao-wen.The Impact of Agricultural Labor Aging on Productivity of Labor-Intensive Agricultural Products ——An Empirical Analysis Based on 745 Apple Farmer Households of Shaanxi and Gansu Province[J] Economic Survey, 2018,V35(5): 73-79
2018 
