An Empirical Study of the Effects of Man-made/Natural Disasters on Farm Households

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25450321
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Agricultural science in management and economy
• Research Institution: Meiji University (2015-2016); Shiga University (2013-2014)
• Principal Investigator: FUJIE TAKESHI 明治大学, 農学部, 専任准教授 (40356316)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: ミクロデータ / 戦前期 / 人的災害 / 自然災害 / 昭和恐慌

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research investigates the effects of man-made disaster on the dynamics of productivity and the vulnerability of farm households in prewar Japan. We especially focus on the Great Depression, as a representative example of man-made disaster. Our main findings are as follows. First, although the Malmquist productivity index decreased rapidly after the Great Depression occurred, due to the technical and efficiency change, this rapid productivity decrease was temporary. Second, the vulnerability of farm households to the Great Depression differed across regions, and large-scale farmers were relatively robust to the Great Depression.

Free Research Field

農業・資源経済学