Xosé A. Rodríguez

Assessing the Total Factor Productivity of Cotton Production in Egypt

The main objective of this paper is to decompose the productivity growth of Egyptian cotton production. We employ the stochastic frontier approach and decompose the changes in total factor productivity (CTFP) growth into four components: technical progress (TP), changes in scale component (CSC), changes in allocative efficiency (CAE), and changes in technical efficiency (CTE). Considering a situation of scarce statistical information, we propose four alternative empirical models, with the purpose of looking for convergence in the results. The results provide evidence that in this production system total productivity does not increase, which is mainly due to the negative average contributions of CAE and TP. Policy implications are offered in light of the results.

The economic impact of academic tourism in Galicia, Spain.

After an explanation of the term ‘academic tourism’, the authors analyse the positive economic impact of academic tourism in Galicia, distinguishing between direct and indirect impacts. For the empirical application, an expenditure survey was carried out and the input–output technique was used. The results demonstrate that, owing to its characteristics, academic tourism has a greater economic impact than conventional tourism. In light of these results, the policy implications are discussed.