Output, Input, and Productivity Measurement in U.S. Agriculture 1948–79

Tornqvist‐Theil indexes of outputs and inputs are constructed. These data are used to construct indexes of productivity growth over the postwar period. The productivity indexes can be derived from a flexible multioutput‐multifactor representation of the structure of production constrained to constant returns to scale. Total factor productivity grew at an average annual rate of 1.75%, compared with 1.70% per year estimated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The similar estimates of productivity growth overshadow some important differences in measurement of individual inputs.