Determinants of structural change in agriculture

The change of Swiss agricultural structures 1985-2001 is explained by macroeconomic, sectoral and farm-specific variables. Expected explanatory patterns arise (eg. the influence of the farmer’s age), but also unexpected ones. The off-farm income, for example, plays a more important role to preserve agricultural structures than agricultural income. Acreage as a size variable has a stabilising impact, while rather the opposite can be said about number of animals per farm.