Integrating agronomic principles into production function specification: A dichotomy of growth inputs and facilitating inputs

This article presents a general conceptual framework for integrating agronomic principles into economic production analysis. We categorize inputs in crop production into growth inputs and facilitating inputs. Based on this dichotomy we specify an asymmetric production function. The robustness of the asymmetric framework is tested using crop-level panel data on potato production in the Netherlands. The test results do not reject the proposed framework, and the asymmetric specification better represents the underlying production technology. Copyright 2006 American Agricultural Economics Association.