Institutional structure, technological change and growth in poor agrarian economies: An analysis with reference to Bengal and Punjab

Abstract

The paper seeks to illustrate the nature of relationship between agrarian structure and technological change through a comparison of the historical developments in the agrarian economies of two regions in India — West Bengal and Punjab. Over the period 1900–1960, stagnation in technology led to significant structural changes in agriculture in West Bengal while in Punjab technological change in the form of expansion in irrigation through public investment helped to forestall a process of structural change. In more recent times, important structural changes have taken place in Punjab agriculture in the course of a successful absorption of modern technology. Agriculture in West Bengal, however, has so far failed to absorb modern technology. An analysis of these contrasting patterns of development suggests two important conclusions. First, structural factors are important determinants of the pace of technological change, although the traditional emphasis on such institutional arrangements as sharecropping as obstacles to technological change may have been misleading. Second, technological change in the present context is unlikely to leave the social basis of production unchanged and, given private property rights in land, is likely to promote capitalism in agriculture.