Farm growth and survival: Econometric evidence for individual farms in Upper Austria

This article investigates survival and growth of more than 50,000 Upper Austrian farm households within a maximum likelihood sample selection framework. The results suggest that age, schooling and sex of the farm operator, size of the farm family, and off-farm employment status, as well as initial farm size, significantly influence farm growth and survival. The present study provides support for the notion of a "disappearing middle" in the size distribution. The process of polarization is closely related to the off-farm employment status of farms. Correcting for sample-attrition bias is important when analyzing the performance of part-time farms.