Multifactor Productivity: A Materialist Intellectual History

Ibanca Anand, Johns Hopkins University

This paper investigates the economic concept of Multifactor Productivity (MFP) as it was developed and applied by agricultural economists in the United States at midcentury. In an attempt to measure the productivity growth of the agricultural sector, economists at the USDA formulated an index that assessed output relative to the whole package of inputs used. In capturing the complex relationship between land, labor, capital, and output all in one indicator, however, MFP obscured the power dynamics at play between the inputs of production. In particular, debates around whether it was desirable to replace labor inputs with capital (machine) inputs received little attention as the focus of the postwar USDA became maximizing production at all costs. This paper excavates the history between 1945 and 1965 of the development of MFP within agriculture. In a materialist vein, it interrogates the economic positionality and financial commitments of two of agricultural MFP’s key theorists, Theodore Schultz and Zvi Griliches. Ultimately, the paper argues that the shift in agricultural policy from farmer welfare to agribusiness interests was aided by the concept of MFP. It also offers some reflections on the importance of blending materialist and intellectual history as a way to capture complexity on both local and global scales.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 42. The Past and Present of Agribusiness