Labor‐saving technologies and structural transformation in northern Ghana
Labor‐saving technologies played a fundamental role historically in the structural transformation of agrarian economies. We focus on an emerging labor‐saving trend in Ghana, use of motorized tricycles (MTs), which provide an affordable alternative to manually transferring crops from plots to homeste...
| Autores principales: | , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Wiley
2019
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147332 |
| _version_ | 1855532319244288000 |
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| author | Mueller, Valerie Masias, Ian Vallury, Sechindra |
| author_browse | Masias, Ian Mueller, Valerie Vallury, Sechindra |
| author_facet | Mueller, Valerie Masias, Ian Vallury, Sechindra |
| author_sort | Mueller, Valerie |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Labor‐saving technologies played a fundamental role historically in the structural transformation of agrarian economies. We focus on an emerging labor‐saving trend in Ghana, use of motorized tricycles (MTs), which provide an affordable alternative to manually transferring crops from plots to homestead. A household survey collected in 2017 in northern Ghana is used to shed light on how the time savings made available by using MTs may be converted into activities that enhance agricultural productivity and/or diversify the household away from agriculture. Detailed information collected on the agricultural production and agro‐processing behavior of 1,400 households allows us to examine the above transformative channels. Ordinary least squares and instrumental variable regressions are applied to quantify the effect of MTs on related outcomes. We find households are able to diversify their farming activities into selling processed agricultural goods with the time savings provided through MT adoption. Policies aimed to foster the diffusion of MTs elsewhere in Ghana may expedite structural change and, hence, economic growth. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace147332 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publishDateRange | 2019 |
| publishDateSort | 2019 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| publisherStr | Wiley |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1473322024-10-25T07:59:51Z Labor‐saving technologies and structural transformation in northern Ghana Mueller, Valerie Masias, Ian Vallury, Sechindra structural adjustment technology labour-saving technologies manufacturing mechanization diversification Labor‐saving technologies played a fundamental role historically in the structural transformation of agrarian economies. We focus on an emerging labor‐saving trend in Ghana, use of motorized tricycles (MTs), which provide an affordable alternative to manually transferring crops from plots to homestead. A household survey collected in 2017 in northern Ghana is used to shed light on how the time savings made available by using MTs may be converted into activities that enhance agricultural productivity and/or diversify the household away from agriculture. Detailed information collected on the agricultural production and agro‐processing behavior of 1,400 households allows us to examine the above transformative channels. Ordinary least squares and instrumental variable regressions are applied to quantify the effect of MTs on related outcomes. We find households are able to diversify their farming activities into selling processed agricultural goods with the time savings provided through MT adoption. Policies aimed to foster the diffusion of MTs elsewhere in Ghana may expedite structural change and, hence, economic growth. 2019-08-07 2024-06-21T09:13:22Z 2024-06-21T09:13:22Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147332 en Limited Access Wiley Mueller, Valerie; Masias, Ian; and Vallury, Sechindra. Labor‐saving technologies and structural transformation in northern Ghana. Agricultural Economics 50(5): 581–594. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12511 |
| spellingShingle | structural adjustment technology labour-saving technologies manufacturing mechanization diversification Mueller, Valerie Masias, Ian Vallury, Sechindra Labor‐saving technologies and structural transformation in northern Ghana |
| title | Labor‐saving technologies and structural transformation in northern Ghana |
| title_full | Labor‐saving technologies and structural transformation in northern Ghana |
| title_fullStr | Labor‐saving technologies and structural transformation in northern Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | Labor‐saving technologies and structural transformation in northern Ghana |
| title_short | Labor‐saving technologies and structural transformation in northern Ghana |
| title_sort | labor saving technologies and structural transformation in northern ghana |
| topic | structural adjustment technology labour-saving technologies manufacturing mechanization diversification |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147332 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT muellervalerie laborsavingtechnologiesandstructuraltransformationinnorthernghana AT masiasian laborsavingtechnologiesandstructuraltransformationinnorthernghana AT vallurysechindra laborsavingtechnologiesandstructuraltransformationinnorthernghana |