ABSTRACT
An improved understanding of the relationship between crop diversity and productivity is important, particularly if appropriate policies for diversity are to be identified and implemented. The impact of wheat diversity on the productivity of wheat in China is examined using total factor productivity (TFP) and an instrumental variable approach. TFP in the seven key wheat-producing provinces in China from 1982 to 1995 shows significant, though variable, growth for all provinces in that period. Analysis of the causes of TFP growth tested alternative taxonomies of diversity (named varieties and morphological groups) and three measures of diversity (richness, inverse dominance, and evenness). This analysis reveals that diversity significantly affects TFP and that the results are consistent across taxonomies and measures of diversity.
