Do Sharecroppers Undersupply Effort? Evidence from a Farm Level Survey in Assam Plains

Binoy Goswami and M. P. Bezbaruah
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Binoy Goswami: Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Postal: Dibru garh University, Dibrugarh, India.
M. P. Bezbaruah: Professor of Economics, Postal: Gauhati University, Gauhati , India

Bangladesh Development Studies, 2013, vol. 36, issue 2, 43-76

Abstract: Using farm level data from Assam plains in Northeast India generated through a primary survey, this paper revisits the debate dating back to Alfred Marshall which centers on the question whether the sharecroppers undersupply effort in crop production as reflected in their input intensities. Our investigation, however, did not result in a categorical answer to the research question. It has been found that while the sharecroppers undersupply labour input conforming the Marshallian inefficiency hypothesis, tenancy or any of its forms does not have any significant impact on capital intensity. On the other hand, in the case of fertiliser consumption it has been found that the fixed rent tenants tend to apply chemical fertilisers more intensively than even the owner operators. This was not reported in the existing literature which has an adverse implication for the sustainable use of land. The tendency among the fixed rent tenants to apply more chemical fertilisers is outcomes of certain restrictive provisions in the existing tenancy law in the state. Accordingly, the paper suggests reforms in the existing tenancy law in order to overcome these problems and ensure efficient utilisation of land resources.

Keywords: Tenancy; Sharecropping; Fixed Rent; Input Intensities; Inefficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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