ListofTables
1.1Landbycastefromdifferentschedules
2.3Proportionandnumberofhouseholdsofdifferenttypes,1957/8 to2008/9
2.4Trendsinlandownership,landoperated,anddemography,1957/8 to2008/9
2.5PossessionofsomedurableassetsinPalanpur(no.per1000persons)65
2.6Realpercapitaincomebycaste(Rs,2008/9prices)
5.2Landcultivatedpercapitabycaste(
5.3CroppingintensityinPalanpur
5.4CultivationareaforselectedmajorcropsinPalanpur
5.5OwnershipofproductiveassetsinPalanpur,1957/8to2008/9
5.6Labour-savingtechnologyinploughing:tractorsvsbullocks (2008/9prices)
5.7Labour-savingtechnologyinirrigation:pumpingsetsvsPersianwheels (2008/9prices)
5.8Averagelabourpersondays,per bigha inPalanpur,1983/4and 2008/9(rabi only)
5.9Yields(quintalsper bigha)ofmajorcropsinPalanpur,1957/8to2008/9184
5.10Prices(inRsperquintal)ofmajorcropsinPalanpur,1957/8to2008/10185
5.11Summarystatistics:householdswithcultivationincomes,1957/8 to2008/9 187
5.12Realper bigha costs(peryear,2008/9prices)
5.13Shareofinputsincostofcultivation(%)
5.14Inputcost(Rsper bigha)formajorcrops,2008/9
6.1TenancyinPalanpur
6.2Averagelandholdingspercultivator(in bighas)
6.3Caste-wisedistributionofareaundertenancycontracts
6.4Householdparticipationintenancy
6.5Landownedpercultivator(in bighas),1983/4and2008/9
6.6Fixed-rentcontracts
6.7Caste-wisedistributionofcreditsources,2008/9
6.8Ratioofrealpercapitainstitutionalcredittototalcredit,1983/4 to2008/9
6.9Participationintenancybylandquintiles,2008/9
6.10Area(bighas)undertenancycontractsbyland-ownershipquintile
6.11Participationintenancybycaste
6.12Distributionofdiscussion-questionnairerespondents
6.13Preferencescoresfordifferentcontracts
6.14Technicalef
6.16Actualdistribution(%)ofsharecroppedarea, rabi 2008/9
7.7FarmwagesinneighbouringdistrictsofMoradabad(Rs/day)
7.8Occupationcompositionofadultmalesin1957/8accordingtoland quintiles
7.9Occupationcompositionofadultmalesin1983/4accordingtoland quintiles
7.10Occupationcompositionofadultmalesin2008/9accordingto landquintiles
7.14Primaryoccupationofmigratinghouseholdsinbaseyear
7.16Locationofnon-farmjobs
A.7.1Regularwageemploymentoutsideagriculture,1957–2009 (no.ofpersonswithstatedjob)
A.7.2Caste-basedconcentrationincasuallabour,2008/9
A.7.3Caste-basedconcentrationinself-employment,2008/9
8.1Correlationmatrixofvariousrankings,2008/9
8.2EstimatesofpovertyHCRinPalanpur
8.3Povertybycaste
8.4ProportionofPalanpurhouseholdsinthefourlowestdecilesofper capitaincomescale
8.5Occupationalstructurebyincomedeciles,2008/9(%)
8.7Inequalitydecompositionbyincomesources
8.8Inequalitydecompositionofnon-farmincomebykindofoccupation, 2008/9 317
8.9 ‘Classic’ inequalitydecompositionbycaste
8.10Inequalitydecomposition(Jatabsversusrestofthevillage)
8.11Cross-tabulationbyincomequintiles
8.12Cross-tabulationofhouseholdsby ‘observedmeans’ (investigator rankings)between1983/4and2008/10 328
8.13Within-castegroupmobilitybasedonrealpercapitaincomerankings, 1983/4and2008/9 330
8.14Between-castegroupmobilitybasedonincomerankings,1983/4and 2008/9 331
8.15Distributionwithincastegroupsbyobservedmeans,1983/4–2008/9332
8.16Intergenerationalelasticityinearningsandinequality,1958–2009334
8.17Transitionmatrixoffathers’ andsons’ occupationcategories,1983/4 and2008/9 336
A.8.1Sharesofvillagenon-farmincomeofvariouscastegroups,1983–2009342
A.8.2Transitionmatrixforfathers’ occupation1983/4andsons’ occupation 2008/9 343
9.1Selectedeconomicandhumandevelopmentindicators
9.2Literacyrates(%)acrosssurveyyearsinPalanpur(7+years)
9.3Literacyrates(%)bycaste(7+years),male
9.4Literacyrates(%)bycaste(7+years),female
9.5Castegroupliteracyrates(%)among7–18years 353
9.6Literacyratesbyage,2009 354
9.7Studentsinprivateschooling(%),2009–15
9.8Averageageofwomenatmarriage(basedonresponseto2008/9survey)359
9.9SexratiosinPalanpur
9.10IllnessandaccesstotreatmentinPalanpur,2009
9.11Sourceof financeforinpatientexpendituresinthelast365days
9.12MalnutritioninIndia,UttarPradesh,andPalanpur
9.13BMIforadults*:comparisonwithdatafromprevioussurveyinPalanpur369
9.14ChildmalnutritioninPalanpur:bycaste(2008/10)
9.15ChildmalnutritioninPalanpur:bysexandmother’sliteracystatus371
9.16ChildmalnutritioninPalanpur:childcarepractices
9.18Contributionofownproductiontocaloriesandproteinintake, 1958and2009
1. Bullockassistedploughingduringthe1974/5 surveyYear
2. Viewofthevillageprimary schoolin1974
3. Thakurhouseholdcompoundandcourtyardin1974/5
7. The firstcopyofthe firstPalanpurbook;SSTyagiJrandVKSingh,withNicholas Stern,April1982
4. Viewofcropsdamagedbycaterpillars during1983/4surveyyear
5. NareshSharmainSorghum fieldin 1983/4
6. JeanDrèzeprocessing fieldnotesduring1983surveyYear
8. Primaryschoollessonsdeliveredoutdoorsin1983/4
10. NareshandTyagi,Jr.conductinghousevisitsin1983/4
9. Villagetailoratworkin1983/4
11. Stateofvillagelanesduringbriefvisitin1990
12. Viewofvillageandrailwaylineduringshortvisitin1990
13. Monkeysarefrequentvisitorsto
14. Villagebarberatworknearrailwayline in2009
Delapidatedstateofvillageseedstoreduring2009surveyyear
15. Improvedvillagelanesin2009 16. Mobilephonenetworkcellulartower in2009
17.
27. Viewofvillagepondandvillage buildings2012
28. Teachingatvillageschoolduring visitin2012
29. Preparing fieldsforcultivationduringvisitin2012
30. Poultryfarmingexperimentattimeofvisitin2012
I.1ThePurposeofResearchinDevelopment
Developmenteconomicsis,orshouldbe,abouttheunderstandingofhow andwhylivesandlivelihoodschange.Theprocessesandpathwaysofdevelopmentarisefromtheinteractionsofthreeelements society,economy,and thebehaviourofindividuals inrelationtotheopportunitiestheyperceive andtheenvironmentinwhichtheylive.Andtheoutcomesandforcesatwork concernthelivesandactivitiesofindividuals,households,andcommunities. Thisunderstanding,togetherwiththepoliciessuchanunderstandingcan inform,isthepurposeofourstudyandofthesubjectordiscipline:the economicsofdevelopment.
Decadesofresearchintodevelopment,fromthesocialsciencesandhumanities,haveenrichedourunderstandingofwhysomesocietiestakelonger toprosperthanothersordosoindifferentways;or,indeed,whysomedecline, andsimilarly,whysomeindividualsfarebetterthanothers.Ouradvancein understandinghasusuallybeencumulative,withinsightsderivingfroman arrayoffocusedinvestigationsofspecificquestionsinwidelyvaryingsettings. Sometimes,althoughrarely,therearemajorchangesinperspective;anexample fromeconomicsmorebroadlywouldbeKeynes’ GeneralTheory.Onewayorthe other,our ‘bigpicture’ growsandchanges.Theadvancesofourunderstandingof theprocessesstillatworkindevelopmentmay,andindeedoftendo,requireus tolookbeyondthefrontiersofmainstreameconomicsanddevelopmentstudies.But,fromwhateverperspective,itisclearthatsomeunderstandingofthe forcesatworkisessentialforthedesignandimplementationofeconomicpolicy toovercomepovertyandtopromotesustainableandinclusivedevelopment. Thisbookisaboutunderstandingdevelopment,India,andpolicy.Itaimsto deepenourunderstandinginaveryparticularway:bycloseobservationin
*ThisintroductionwaswrittenbyHimanshu,PeterLanjouw,andNicholasStern.
greatdetailinoneplace,overalongperiodoftime.Itisaboutthekeyquestionsof development;itispreciselyfocusedonhowlivesandlivelihoodschange.Itbrings ideastoexperienceandexperiencetoideas.Itbringsthebigpicturetothelittle pictureandthelittlepicturetothebigpicture.Morespecifically,itexaminesand integratesanalyticallytheindividualandthesociety,thevillageandthecountry, themicroandthemacro,theintenselyfocusedstudyandthesubjectofdevelopmenteconomics.Forallfour,theinteractionsandinsightsgobothways. Opportunitiestoaskthefundamentalquestionsabouteconomicdevelopmentandchangeusinglong-term,detailedempiricalstudiesofcommunities, households,andindividuals,arerare.Thisbook,andtheworkbehindit, representsasustainedresponsetoaspecialopportunity.Wedescribehow wehavebeenabletogenerateandanalyseauniquedataset,comprising detailedinformationonallhouseholdsinthevillageofPalanpur(inMoradabad districtofUttarPradesh,innorthIndia).Weusetheresultsfromonesurvey, coveringallhouseholds,foreachdecadesinceIndia’sIndependence:sevenin all,the firstin1957/8andthemostrecentin2015.
Aroundhalftheworld’spopulationofapproximately7.5billionpeoplelive outsideurbanareas.Fiftyyearsago,itwasaroundtwo-thirdsandahalf centuryfromnow,itwilllikelybearoundonethird.1 Thedeterminantsof livelihoodsinvillages,andhowtheyrespondtoanddrivechangeinthe economyandsocietyasawhole,areclearlyoffundamentalimportanceto anunderstandingofdevelopmentandthemakingofpolicy.
Thisbookisabouttheevolvingnatureofopportunitiesforthepeopleof PalanpurasIndiachangesandhowmarketsandthebehaviourofagentsinfluenceandareinfluencedbychange.Itexaminesthedynamicsofinteractions betweenmarketsandoutcomes,withastrongfocusonchanginginstitutions.
TheprocessofdevelopmentinPalanpuristhestoryoftheintegrationofa villageeconomywiththeoutsideworld.Marketsandinstitutionsshape, interactwith,andareinfluencedbysocialnorms,economicstructures,and geography.Someelementsofconventionaltheoryarehelpfulinunderstandingthesechanges;othertheoriesandperceptionsmuchlessso.Butthe flowof learningisnotjustfromtheorytounderstandingoftheevidenceandphenomenaweidentify:thevillage’sexperienceanddevelopmentcanhelpus understandhowandinwhatdirectionsomeofthetheoriescouldandshould develop.
Whilstthisbook,wetrust,contributestoourunderstandingofthenature andprocessesofdevelopmentinonevillage,itisnotonlyaboutavillage.It usesthevillageasalenstounderstandandassessvarioustheoriesofdevelopmentintheirsocial,political,andinstitutionalcontexts.Anditgoesfurther
1 Fifty-fourpercentoftheworldpopulationwaslivinginurbanareasin2014.Thiswasonly 30%in1950butisexpectedtoincreaseto66%by2050(UN,2014).
andseekstoinformtheroleof,andscopefor,publicpolicyinshapingthe livesofindividualsandsocieties.Itisintendedtobeusefultoanyoneinterestedinthenatureanddriversofeconomicandsocialtransformationandin howpublicpolicymightinfluencetheprocessesatwork,betheystudents, academics,practitioners,orjustcurious.Thus,wehavetriedtoavoidthe heavilytechnicalandtokeepthediscussionaccessible,whilstatthesame timetakingonsomeofthebigconceptualandtheoreticalissuesofoursubject andtimes.
ThelongstoryoftheworkonPalanpurconcernstheempiricalfoundationsof developmentaleconomics:itisbuiltonindividualdata,carefullycollectedand analysed,spanningsevendecades,householdbyhousehold.Measurement requirestheory;italsorequirespainstakingattentiontodetailanddataquality. Someofourconclusionswillbeaboutlessons learntfromthedetailed,crosschecked,primarydatainoursurveysandresearch forthereliabilityand designofthebroadhouseholdsurveyswhichloomsolargeinbothnational andacademicdatacollectionandinstandardeconomicanalyses.
Theanalysispresentedherecomplementsandtakesforwardtheearlierwork onPalanpur,includingthatreportedinChristopherBlissandNicholasStern’s Palanpur:TheEconomyofanIndianVillage (BlissandStern,1982)andPeter LanjouwandNicholasStern(eds), EconomicDevelopmentinPalanpuroverFive Decades (LanjouwandStern,1998).These,inturn,buildonthe1957/8and 1962/3studiesbytheAgriculturalEconomicsResearchCentre(AERC)ofthe UniversityofDelhi,andreportedinNasimAnsari, ‘Palanpur:AStudyofits EconomicResourcesandEconomicActivities’ (Ansari,1964).Wehopethat thisbook,asitspredecessors,willcontributetowiderdiscussionsondevelopmentandgrowth.
Theclosestudyof,andresidencein,avillageisnotsimplyaquestionof enhancingtheaccuracyandqualityofdata.Thisapproachalsomeansthatwe cangettoknowindividualsandthesocietyanditspolitics.Atanumberof pointswewillillustrateourideaswithstoriesofindividuals;theyarenot merelydatapointswithaparticularnumber.Andweshallsetourarguments andinferencesinthecontextofthewaysinwhichthesocietyandpolitics function.Thatlocalunderstandingofindividualsandthecommunityisacore featureofvillagestudies,anditisallthericherinalongitudinalstudywhere wecancharthowfortunesdevelopovertime.
I.2PalanpurandIndia
ThegrowthandchangingstructureoftheIndianeconomyandthedevelopmentofitsinstitutionshashadaprofoundeffectonthedevelopmentof Palanpur. Zamindari abolitioncamesoonafterIndependence,withindividual
