REGIONAL PRODUCTIVITY DIFFERENCES AND PROSPECT FOR CONVERGENCE IN BANGLADESH AGRICULTURE, 1964-1992

This paper applies the sequential Malmquist index to calculate multi lateral, multi-factor productivity (MFP) indices for agriculture in 16 regions of Bangladesh from 1964 to 1992 and examines convergence among regions. Productivity grew at an average rate of 2.2% per annum, led by regions with high level of Green Revolution technology diffusion. The growth mainly occurred due to technological progress estimated at 2.1% per year. Overall technical efficiency declined slightly at 0.1% per year due to falling technical efficiency in most of the regions in later years. Both cross-section and time series tests confirmed that divergence among regions disappeared and agricultural productivity reached convergence in the long run