The Succession Effect on Farm Management Choices and the Influence of Successor's Gender and Role

ABSTRACT Previous research has shown that identifying a successor prompts significant changes in farm management, a phenomenon commonly referred to as the succession effect. Based on a survey of Polish and Italian farmers and the use of count data regressions, we investigate whether the successor's gender and involvement in farm operations influence the succession effect. We find that the identification of a successor has a significant effect on all types of management practices. The identification of a female successor favours the adoption of innovation and diversification practices. Conversely, identifying a male successor favours integration practices. However, the effect emerges only when the successor is already involved in farm management, indicating that both certainty of succession and the successor's direct engagement are decisive. This evidence helps better outline the succession effect theory. To leverage the succession effect, policymakers could incentivise successors’ early involvement in farm management and make the existing post‐installation support for young farmers available prior to succession.