Estimation of Price and Substitution Elasticities of Cotton Production Inputs: Empirical Evidence from Baghlan Province, Afghanistan

This study aimed to estimate the price and substitution elasticities among the production inputs of cotton in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan. Data were collected through ۱۳۲ questionnaires, using stratified random sampling from cotton growers in the province. The relationships among production inputs were examined using a translog cost function in conjunction with the Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) approach. The results showed that the price elasticities of demand for land, animal manure, phosphate fertilizer, urea fertilizer, seeds, labor, water, and machinery were -۰.۰۳۶, -۰.۸۱۵, -۰.۰۵۶, -۰.۰۵۰, -۰.۰۵۶, -۰.۰۹۲, -۰.۰۷۴, and -۰.۱۹۸, respectively. All price elasticities of input demand were less than one, indicating inelastic demand, that is, input use is not highly sensitive to price changes. The cross elasticities of demand for inputs were also less than one, confirming inelastic demand across all inputs. The small values of substitution elasticities further indicated that policies targeting a single input would have little impact on the allocation of other inputs. Therefore, it is recommended that policymakers avoid focusing on individual inputs and, instead, consider all inputs as an integrated system when designing agricultural policies.

کلیدواژه ها:

Allen and Morishima Elasticities of Substitution ، Cost function ، Demand for Inputs ، Seemingly Unrelated Regressions (SUR)