Statistical analysis of farm data for the orientation of structural policy

This study deals with the problem of gathering and processing some of the information necessary for the formulation of the so-called ‘structural policy’, especially at the regional and sub-regional level. More specifically, it examines the procedures adopted for obtaining quantitative estimates of the relations between structural characteristics and economic results of farms. After a brief description of procedures currently used in Italy, an alternative is proposed, based on statistical regression analysis of structural and economic data obtained from farm records for groups of homogeneous farms. The characteristics of this procedure are illustrated and an application to some types of farms in Campania is presented. The method appears to be suitable primarily for the study of those types of structural modification which do not involve radical transformation of the farming system. Moreover, the nature and quality of the information it produces make them more useful for providing an idea of what are the possibilities and problems of a structural policy in a given area than for defining operative programs of intervention.