Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/81445 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
IFN Working Paper No. 966
Publisher: 
Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Stockholm
Abstract: 
We measure the impact of the removal of a railway transportation subsidy on the adoption of technology for Western Canadian farms, using a unique combination of Census and freight rate data. We exploit the large regional variation in these one-time freight rate increases in order to identify causal effects of increased competitive pressure. Using a difference-in-differences methodology we find that higher freights rates – and hence lower farm gate prices – induced farmers to adopt new, more efficient production technology. We also find that farmers experiencing the greatest transportation cost increases also increased fertilizer usage and made significant land use changes.
Subjects: 
Agricultural Trade Liberalization
Export Subsidy
Technical Change
JEL: 
F14
O13
Q16
Q17
Q18
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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