• economic development
• subsistence agriculture
• Total factor productivity

This thesis investigates the role of agricultural productivity in economic development. We examine the factors that determine total factor productivity in the agricultural sector as this element in the production process is essential for high agricultural output from subsistence level. Using panel data from World Bank’s World Development Indicators data and data from many other sources, we first estimate the production function for the agricultural sector then go on to use the results to estimate the determinants of total factor productivity. We find that some of the critical determinants of total factor productivity in the agricultural sector are education, research and development (R&D), life expectancy, trade, inflation, and population growth. We then make some policy recommendations for leaders of the economies in the world, most especially, the poor ones.