Human capital, gender and organisation in transition agriculture: Measuring and explaining the technical efficiency of Bulgarian and Hungarian farms

Based on survey data on Bulgarian and Hungarian crop and dairy farms, a dou ble-peaked distribution of technical efficiency is observed. Several factor s explain differences in efficiency. Human capital matters not only through age and education but also through gender, as farms with a higher proporti on of women are more efficient. Contracting with upstream processors increa ses efficiency through facilitating the adoption of technology and access t o credits. The superiority of family farms over corporate farms is confirme d for crops but not for dairy produce.