Abstract:Based on the input-output panel data from 13 main rapeseed production provinces in China between 1978 and 2012,this paper estimates production elasticity and substitution elasticity of each input of rapeseed production by using the trans-log production function and fixed effect estimation.Then,this paper analyzes the growth path of rapeseeds production.The result shows that even though rapeseed production has experienced a process of rural labor force transfer in China,this process doesn’t harm the production of rapeseeds especially the increase of yield significantly because of the substitution effects of chemical fertilizer and machinery to the rural labor,the production of rapeseeds has chosen the labor productivity driven growth path and the agricultural mechanization-dominant growth path.Besides,there are some factor substitution effects among other inputs.Consequently,this paper puts forward several policy suggestions on how to optimize input structure of rapeseeds and respond to the challenges of labor force transfer.