POLICY REFORMS AND TECHNOLOGICAL-CHANGE IN EGYPTIAN RICE PRODUCTION -A FRONTIER PRODUCTION FUNCTION-APPROACH

This paper uses a frontier production function approach to quantify th e separate effects of policy reforms, technological change, and increa sed input use on production growth in Egyptian rice production. The re sults showed that the policy reforms initiated in the mid-1980s, in ad dition to technological change and increased use of inputs, have had a great impact on rice production growth. Increased investment in agric ultural research will be the main determinant of future production gro wth because further reforms in the rice sector will not generate the s imilar growth-promoting effect on production as before and increased l and input is also limited because of water shortage. Without the incre ase in land input, the marginal returns from other inputs will decline .