Dr. Yandle's Quarterly Economic Update: March 2012
Team 1 a econ hw 1
1. Team Homework 1
Team 1A
Andrew Posner
Rachel Pratt
David Tse
Question: Plot agricultural productivity versus population
density for G20 and then determine how global
economists might have to rethink management of scarce
resources.
2. G20 Agricultural Productivity
90000
Germany
Italy
80000 South Korea
Agricultural Productivity ($/Sq. Area)
Top Agricultural Performers
70000
United Kingdom
60000
50000 France
India
European Union
40000
Japan
30000 China
Turkey
Indonesia
Lower Agricultural Performers
20000 United States
Brazil Mexico
10000 Argentina
South Africa
Australia
Canada
0 Russia
Saudi Arabia
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Population Density (# People / Sq. Area)
3. Global Economic Outlook
through the lens of Italy and Germany
By focusing on the top two performing countries in terms of
agricultural productivity vs. population density, Italy and Germany
were selected for further analysis. The results of our research
showed that the following can greatly improve upon a countries’
agricultural productivity:
• Implementation of policies to regulate agricultural yields
and output while guaranteeing minimum prices
• Promote innovation to meet regulatory compliance
in order to maximize sustainable yield
• Ensure countries are not over producing
• Enhanced sustainability of farming practices to
protect natural resources
• Promote automation of farming to optimize labor
• Promote crop selection based on area climate and
conditions. (e.g., olives in Italy)
• Focus on what each country does best
4. Assumptions
• Techniques successful in Europe will translate to
success across other cultures and government structures
• Cost of farming will increase with fuel costs; therefore
innovation will be required to keep costs down
• Market prices will remain above price floors set by
regulations
