Returns to managerial ability: Dairy farms in Argentina

Abstract

Most studies analyzing the impact of human capital in agriculture use the measure of years of schooling of the producer as a proxy for decision-making skills. An alternative measure is used in this paper. The measure was derived by grading decision-making and execution skills of a sample of farmers. Grades were assigned by farm advisors knowledgeable of each farm and producer characteristics. Assigned grades were then used in a production-function context in order to estimate the impact of management skills on firm-level results. A very significant impact of these skills on production efficiency and firm results was found.