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Learning by Doing and Learning from Others: Human Capital and Technical Change in Agriculture

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  • Mark Rosenzweig
  • Andrew D. Foster

Abstract

Household-level panel data from a nationally representative sample of rural Indian households describing the adoption and profitability of high-yielding seed varieties (HYVs) associated with the Green Revolution are used to test the implications of a model incorporating learning by doing and learning spillovers. The estimates indicate that imperfect knowledge about the management of the new seeds was a significant barrier to adoption; this barrier diminished as farmer experience with the new technologies increased; own experience and neighbors' experience with HYVs significantly increased HYV profitability; and farmers do not fully incorporate the village returns to learning in making adoption decisions. Copyright 1995 by University of Chicago Press.
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  • Mark Rosenzweig & Andrew D. Foster, "undated". "Learning by Doing and Learning from Others: Human Capital and Technical Change in Agriculture," Home Pages _068, University of Pennsylvania.
  • Handle: RePEc:wop:pennhp:_068
    as

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    File URL: http://adfdell.pstc.brown.edu/papers/hyv4.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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