MalmSoft: An Online Software for Computing Total Factor Productivity Using Malmquist Index

Abstract

Productivity, mainly a measure of output per unit of input, is a closely watched economic performance indicator because of its contribution to a healthy and thriving economy. Agriculture, in particular, has been a very successful sector of the Indian Economy in terms of productivity growth. Thus, productivity growth in agriculture is both necessary and sufficient condition for the economic development. Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is based on technology and technical efficiency. It is not dependent on growth in inputs like land, labour and capital. Malmquist Index can measure change in TFP between any two locations or between different time periods of the same location. Online software has been developed to compute TFP Index based on Malmquist Index. The purpose of this paper is to describe features and functional details of online software for computation of Malmquist Index (MalmSoft). This software is completely menu driven and presents user-friendly GUI which is developed to minimize efforts in using the software. This software will ease the computation of Malmquist Index which is used by agricultural researchers working in the area of agricultural productivity.