Direct Subsidies and Technical Efficiency in Greek Agriculture

In this paper we apply the technical inefficiency effect model to a set of eight different crop products (i.e., wheat, mixed arable crops, tobacco, cotton, olive oil, fruits, vegetables, and greenhouse horticulture) in Greek agriculture. For each product, a panel data set covering the period 1991-1995 is used and separate econometric results are obtained for each product. A particular set of socioeconomic and demographic variables is used to explain technical efficiency differentials among Greek farmers, including the direct subsidies given to each farmer, and the concordance of these efficiency determinants is discussed across the eight different crop products considered.