Agricultural productivity growth and the development of manufacturing in developing Asia

In this paper, it is argued that agricultural productivity is an important determinant of the extent of manufacturing development. Specifically, it was hypothesized that agricultural productivity played a significant role in influencing the share of employment in the manufacturing sector as a proportion of total employment. This hypothesis was tested empirically utilizing data from eleven Asian countries over a thirty-five-year period. The results support the hypothesis. In addition, the results show that human capital accumulation has also played an important role in positively influencing the share of manufacturing employment in total employment for the countries in the sample.& COPY; 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.