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Specialization and Diversfication in Agricultural Transformation: The Case of Rural Punjab, c.1900-1995

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  • Takashi Kurosaki

Abstract

In this paper, the role of crop specialization and diversification in the process of agricultural transformation is empirically investigated for the case of Punjub. The analytical innovation of this paper is that changes in aggregate land productivity are structurally as-sociated with inter-crop, inter-district, and inter-household reallocation of land use. This structual association enables us to characterize the nature of market development and agricultural transformation in a specific region. The empirical part is based on newly-compiled production data Punjab's agriculture for the period c.1900-1995, where a rapid growth of agricultural production has been observed. Quantiative results show that, first, the diversity of a traditional and subsistence agriculture went down at the macro (national), semi-macro (district), and household levels, but at a lower pace at the macro level. This change was associated with crop shifts reflecting comparative advantages. Second, even in a region with the oldest history of commercialization of agriculture in developing countries, two phases were clearly distinguished in the specialization process-- the first phase in which local transactions such as intra-village sales enable each farm to specialize in crops and the secound phase in which inter-regional trading becomes more efficient, inducing a rapid specialization at that level.

Suggested Citation

  • Takashi Kurosaki, 2001. "Specialization and Diversfication in Agricultural Transformation: The Case of Rural Punjab, c.1900-1995," Discussion Paper Series a406, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
  • Handle: RePEc:hit:hituec:a406
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    diversification; comparative advantage; agricultural transformation; growth accounting; Punjab.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • Q10 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - General

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