ASRB NET - Agricultural Statistics (and Computer Application / Bioinformatics) · India · Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ICAR)
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersThe measures national statisticians compile: index-number theory and tests, wholesale and consumer price indices, agricultural production and parity indices, terms of trade, and national accounts with agriculture's gross value added. Business-statistics treatments of index numbers are in the Agribusiness track; this goes to compilation level.
In the exams: UPSC ISS Statistics IV (heavy, reported); SSC CGL JSO (heavy); RBI Grade B DSIM (present); state statistical-officer exams (heavy)
How our questions for ASRB NET spread across the units of Index Numbers, National Accounts & Agricultural Economic Statistics. Difficulty: 6 easy, 12 medium, 8 hard.
| Index numbers of agricultural production and area | 8 | |
| Estimation of agricultural GVA and value of output | 8 | |
| Parity index and terms of trade between agriculture and non-agriculture | 4 | |
| Growth rates: compound annual growth and trend estimation | 4 | |
| Inequality measures: Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient | 2 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
An index of agricultural production is usually computed as
A. A Laspeyres quantity index with base-period value weights
Production relatives of each crop are weighted by the crop's value of output in the base period (production x average farm price), a Laspeyres quantity form. It measures volume, not price.
Further reading: Consumer Price Index Manual (IMF and partners, 2020); System of National Accounts 2008; Goon, Gupta and Dasgupta, Fundamentals of Statistics Vol. 2; Cowell, Measuring Inequality
A crop's production index is 105 and its area index is 120. What is the yield index, and what does it show?
D. 87.5; yield fell while area expanded
Yield index = 105/120 x 100 = 87.5, below 100, so yield fell by 12.5%; production rose only because area rose by 20%. 114.3 inverts the ratio; 126 multiplies.
Further reading: Consumer Price Index Manual (IMF and partners, 2020); System of National Accounts 2008; Goon, Gupta and Dasgupta, Fundamentals of Statistics Vol. 2; Cowell, Measuring Inequality
An index of prices received by farmers is 156 and an index of prices paid by farmers is 120, on a common base. What are the barter terms of trade?
D. 130.0
Barter terms of trade = 156/120 x 100 = 130: farm prices bought 30% more non-farm goods and inputs than in the base. 76.9 inverts the ratio; 36 is the difference in points.
Further reading: Consumer Price Index Manual (IMF and partners, 2020); System of National Accounts 2008; Goon, Gupta and Dasgupta, Fundamentals of Statistics Vol. 2; Cowell, Measuring Inequality
The barter terms of trade of agriculture are 95 and the index of the quantity of farm output sold is 120. What are the income terms of trade?
A. 114.0
Income terms of trade = barter terms x quantity index / 100 = 95 x 120/100 = 114. Even with prices moving against farmers, larger sales raised the purchasing power of total marketed output. 79.2 divides 95 by 1.20.
Further reading: Consumer Price Index Manual (IMF and partners, 2020); System of National Accounts 2008; Goon, Gupta and Dasgupta, Fundamentals of Statistics Vol. 2; Cowell, Measuring Inequality
A region produces 4 million tonnes of wheat at a farm-gate price of 25,000 currency units per tonne. Straw is valued at 12% of the grain value, and inputs total 30,000 million currency units. What is GVA from wheat, in million currency units?
D. 82,000
Grain output = 4 x 25,000 = 100,000 million; straw = 12% = 12,000; total output 112,000; GVA = 112,000 - 30,000 = 82,000. 70,000 omits the by-product; 112,000 is output, not value added.
Further reading: Consumer Price Index Manual (IMF and partners, 2020); System of National Accounts 2008; Goon, Gupta and Dasgupta, Fundamentals of Statistics Vol. 2; Cowell, Measuring Inequality
In estimating the value of crop output, by-products such as straw and stalks are usually valued by
A. Applying ratios of by-product value to main-product value
By-products are part of output; their value is estimated from benchmark ratios of by-product to main product. Straw fed on the farm is also an input to livestock, which is why own-farm inputs need care.
Further reading: Consumer Price Index Manual (IMF and partners, 2020); System of National Accounts 2008; Goon, Gupta and Dasgupta, Fundamentals of Statistics Vol. 2; Cowell, Measuring Inequality
Financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM) enter the agricultural GVA calculation as
C. Part of intermediate consumption
FISIM, the implicit charge in interest margins on farm loans, is a service used up in production, so it is deducted with the other inputs. It is not output, a tax or depreciation.
Further reading: Consumer Price Index Manual (IMF and partners, 2020); System of National Accounts 2008; Goon, Gupta and Dasgupta, Fundamentals of Statistics Vol. 2; Cowell, Measuring Inequality
Why are first estimates of agricultural GVA for a year usually revised?
A. Advance crop estimates are replaced by final production data
Early estimates rely on advance crop estimates and indicators; later, final production, livestock and fishery data arrive and the estimate is revised. Base-year changes are occasional, not every revision.
Further reading: Consumer Price Index Manual (IMF and partners, 2020); System of National Accounts 2008; Goon, Gupta and Dasgupta, Fundamentals of Statistics Vol. 2; Cowell, Measuring Inequality
A production series has a coefficient of variation of 25% and the fitted trend has an adjusted R squared of 0.64. What is the Cuddy-Della Valle instability index?
C. 15.0
CDV = CV x sqrt(1 - adjusted R^2) = 25 x sqrt(0.36) = 25 x 0.6 = 15.0. 16.0 multiplies by 0.64; 9.0 multiplies by 0.36 without the square root.
Further reading: Consumer Price Index Manual (IMF and partners, 2020); System of National Accounts 2008; Goon, Gupta and Dasgupta, Fundamentals of Statistics Vol. 2; Cowell, Measuring Inequality
Which inequality measure can be split exactly into within-group and between-group components, such as rural and urban?
A. Theil's entropy index
Theil's index is additively decomposable into a weighted sum of within-group indices plus a between-group term. The Gini decomposes cleanly only when group distributions do not overlap.
Further reading: Consumer Price Index Manual (IMF and partners, 2020); System of National Accounts 2008; Goon, Gupta and Dasgupta, Fundamentals of Statistics Vol. 2; Cowell, Measuring Inequality
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