FARM LABOR DEMAND: A META-REGRESSION ANALYSIS OF WAGE ELASTICITIES

By: Espey, Molly; McFadden, Dawn Thilmany
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Espey, Molly; McFadden, Dawn Thilmany, FARM LABOR DEMAND: A META-REGRESSION ANALYSIS OF WAGE ELASTICITIES, Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Volume 25, Issue 1, July 2000, Pages 252-266

Previous research on farm labor demand is reviewed to empirically explore what has been learned over the past 50 years. Following the example of Hamermesh, studies were differentiated by numerous factors. A meta-regression analysis of estimated demand wage elasticities was conducted to more clearly identify any systematic factors that influence such estimates. Results of the analysis show that the magnitudes of own-price demand elasticities are affected by differences including type and area of labor market, methodology, and the time period covered by the data. Understanding variations due to model specification is important when interpreting current and future agricultural labor and policy research.