‘The Curse of the Caribbean’?

Agency’s impact on the efficiency of sugar estates in St.Vincent and the Grenadines, 1814-1829

Simon D.Smith and Martin Forster

University of Oxford, University of York

Abstract

This study estimates agency’s impact on the efficiency of sugar plantations on St.Vincent and the Grenadines during the early 19th century. Using a panel data set covering the years 1814-1829, a series of stochastic frontier models are estimated to investigate whether estates employing agents were more technically efficient than those managed by the owners themselves. Multiple imputation methods are used to deal with missing data problems. There is no evidence in any of the models estimated to suggest that estates under agency were less efficient than those that were directed by their owners. Estimates from a number of models suggest that agent-operated estates were more efficient.