Abstract
In keeping with its avowed policy of promoting free trade, the government of India resisted demands for bans on the export of foodgrains during the numerous severe famines of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This paper assesses the relevance to India of the arguments made for free trade as a food consumption stabilization policy. An estimate is made of the quantitative effect of external trade in buffering domestic foodgrain consumption from output uncertainty. The results suggest that, while trade did have a stabilizing influence, the effect was small, particularly in the short run. Alternative explanations for this are examined.
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