Efficiency, gender diversity and public aid: evidence from Italian agrifood sector

The aim of this empirical analysis is to assess the economic efficiency of Italian farms across provinces, to determine whether production efficiency is correlated with gender differences in farm ownership and the level of European agricultural subsidies received. This study uses a bootstrap-Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach to analyse data collected from the Farm Accountancy Data Network. The data show that male-led farms are dominant throughout Italy and are generally more efficient than female-led farms. However, northern region farms are relatively more productive than southern region farms, despite male-led farms being less dominant in the north than in the south. Further, while male-led farms were more predominant in the south, and receive the greatest share of European agricultural assistance per province, they are relatively less efficient. These results imply that refocusing entrepreneurial and financial assistance to northern region farms, with a relatively higher ratio of female-led farming operations, can promote overall Italian agricultural efficiency while also decreasing the gender gap in agricultural efficiency that exists between male-led and female-led Italian farms.