Effects of pluriactivity of brazilian rural establishments on technical efficiency

Abstract

This paper examines Brazilian rural establishments which carry out both agricultural and non-agricultural activities. The combination of these activities, in the same agricultural unit, characterizes and defines pluriactivity. The research aims to analyze the effect of pluriactivity on the technical efficiency of rural establishments. To do so, Propensity Score Matching (PSM), a Probit Model and the Stochastic Production Frontier were used. The data used refer to a special tabulation, based on the micro-data of the 2006 Agricultural Census. The results found that establishments which carry out exclusively agricultural activities make better use of available resources than those involved in pluriactivity, as they are technically more efficient.