Capital as a Factor of Production in OECD Agriculture: Measurement and Data

This paper provides a farm sector comparison of levels of capital input for fourteen OECD countries for the period 1973-2002. The starting point for construction of a measure of capital input is the measurement of capital stock. Estimates of depreciable capital are derived by representing capital stock at each point of time as a weighted sum of past investments. The weights correspond to the relative efficiencies of capital goods of different ages, so that the weighted components of capital stock have the same efficiency. Estimates of the stock of land are derived from balance sheet data. We convert estimates of capital stock into estimates of capital service flows by means of capital rental prices. Comparisons of levels of capital input among countries require data on relative prices of capital input. We obtain relative price levels for capital input via relative investment goods prices, taking into account the flow of capital input per unit of capital stock in each country.