Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of credit constraints on agricultural productivity in China. Design/methodology/approach -Using data from a rural financial survey, a switching regression model is used to account for endogeneity and heterogeneity. Carter presents three ways that credit might affect the production functions; a shift along a given production surface by allowing an optimal level of inputs, a shift the production surface out by allowing the purchase of more efficient inputs, and the third is to increase net revenue by more intensive use of fixed inputs and resources. Thus, the effects of factors on agricultural productivity may not be independent of credit status; therefore, separate functions for credit-constrained and non-constrained households are examined. Findings -Empirical estimates of the impacts of credit constraints on agricultural productivity are provided for the Heilongjiang province, a major agricultural production area, in Northeast China. By removing credit constraints, average agricultural productivity was estimated to be increased by 75 percent. Under credit constraints, labor inputs, along with a farmers' education, cannot be fully employed because of an inappropriate mix of inputs. Research limitations/implications -Young farmers may not be able to leverage their comparative advantage for physically intensive farm work under credit constraints. Because of data limitations, the research does not include information on informal credit in the estimation, which may underestimate the effects of credit constraints. Originality/value -This study provides an analysis of the impacts of credit constraints on rural household productivity for the Heilongjiang province, a major agricultural production region, in Northeast China.

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This study used a 1976-1992 panel data set to test whether farm machinery investors face finance constraints. Tests were based on fundamental q investment equations in which cash flow was added as an additional explanatory variable. Results indicated that (1) credit constraints were generally not a problem during the 1970s boom, (2) credit constraints became a problem during the 1980s and early 1990s because of tighter credit and/or more conservative financial managerial styles, (3) the investment-cash flow relationships of low-debt and older-operator farms were not significantly affected by farm business cycles, and (4) the investment-cash flow relationships of high-debt and young-operator farms were affected strongly by business cycles. Debt level was the strongest determinant of credit constraints; asset size and operator age were less important. © 1998 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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