Searching for a Weapon of Mass Production in Nepal

The World Bank recently published a comprehensive statement on land reform policy, the first in 30 years, that self-proclaims market-assisted land reform as a key policy to achieve not only efficiency, but even more importantly, equity. At the core of this ‘neo-populist neoclassical’ orthodoxy is: 1) the long-term pursuit of individual property and associated rights; 2) an idealized notion of the egalitarian and efficient small farmer based on the well-known inverse relation between farm size and productivity; and 3) a static view of rural markets blinding one to the negative and unforeseen consequences by landlords in the face of reform. This article critically examines the validity of these core assumptions in light of current calls for market-assisted land reform in Nepal. A major conclusion is that given the evidence, the presumed benefits of such reforms are ideologically driven, and therefore, will unlikely provide a much needed escape from poverty for millions of Nepali citizens.