The aim of the study is to determine the impact of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies on farm efficiency, depending on farm economic size. Although the impact of subsidies on efficiency is already relatively well recognised, earlier studies were focused on identifying this issue rather than explaining the variation in its intensity. Typically, the analysis of variation by type of production and country was conducted with microeconomic data. Our survey is based on data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) aggregated at the regional level, for farms representative for particular economic size classes. In the survey, we apply stochastic frontier analysis and "true" fixed-effects model. The results of the research confirm the hypothesis that the impact of subsidies on efficiency depends on the size of farms. Statistically significant, stimulating effect of subsidies was identified only in the group of the largest farms. Such results put into question the effectiveness of the CAP in stimulating the development of the European Model of Agriculture, and at the same time indicate that in its current form, the policy may interfere with market mechanisms and lead to the phenomenon of "rent seeking".

PurposeTotal factor productivity (TFP) has become a prominent concept in agriculture economics and policy over the last three decades. The main aim of this paper is to obtain a detailed picture of the field via bibliometric analysis to identify research streams and future research agenda.Design/methodology/approachThe data sample consists of 472 papers in several bibliometric exercises. Citation and collaboration structure analyses are employed to identify most important authors and journals and track the interconnections between main authors and institutions. Next, content analysis based on bibliographic coupling is conducted to identify main research streams in TFP.FindingsThree research streams in agricultural TFP research were distinguished: TFP growth in developing countries in the context of policy reforms (1), TFP in the context of new challenges in agriculture (2) and finally, non-parametric TFP decomposition based on secondary data (3).Originality/valueThis research indicates agenda of future TFP research, in particular broadening the concept of TFP to the problems of policy, environment and technology in emerging countries. It provides description of the current state of the art in the agricultural TFP literature and can serve as a “guide” to the field.

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Despite remaining the most important type of animal production, pig production in Poland and Hungary declined after their accession to the European Union (EU) in 2004. This paper investigated the evolution of the technical efficiency of the pork industry in both countries. We applied stochastic frontier analysis, which takes into account heterogeneity in the production environment and production functions in both countries—true random effects, and a metafrontier model. We employed farm-level data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network sample during the period 2004–2015. Results illustrate the differences in production function in both countries and technological decline throughout the period of analysis. Furthermore, farms in Hungary were more technologically developed as well as less efficient in relation to the country frontier; however, the higher technological level resulted in generally greater efficiency in relation to the metafrontier. Our results suggest that different policy measures would be effective in the countries under analysis.

The theory about the impact of farm size, income and assets on the environmental approach of farmers is ambiguous. We contribute to the existing discussion in two ways. Firstly, we look for the determinants of the environmental approach. Secondly, we treat farm size as a heterogeneous factor, affected not only by the value of assets but also flows of incomes. The main objective of the article is, therefore, to recognize the impact of assets and income on the environmental approach of agricultural producers. We analyze the results of surveys carried out in 2020 on a group of 120 farms from the Wielkopolska region (Poland), using structural equation modelling (generalized structural equation modelling (GSEM)-multiple indicators and multiple causes (MIMIC) model). Our results indicate that both the income and assets of the agricultural producers have a positive impact on their approach to the environment. However, to a greater extent, the farmer’s approach to the environment is influenced more by income than by assets. This may be influenced by the capitalization of subsidies in the price of agricultural land, which makes this element of farm assets detached from real processes. It is easier for farms with a higher income and assets to realize the orientation towards sustainability.