Articles by Ashok Rudra

Some results of an analysis of data taken from farm management sources presented in an earlier article ('Economic Effects of Tenancy: Some Negative Results", July 14, 1973) suggested that the economic performance of owner and tenant farmers is not so very different as it has often been supposed to be. In the present paper, which is a sequel to the earlier one, some further results are presented which go to strengthen the same negative conclusions.

and Small Farmers IN the present paper we present some empirical findings about the marketing behaviour of big, medium and small farmers , Our study is confined to the district Hooghly of West Bengal and to paddy. Our data consist of a random sample of 149 households distributed among a random sample of 15 villages in the district. Our principal finding contradicts the very generally held opinion that the bigger farmers hold on to their marketable surplus of products over a longer period than do the smaller farmers. Our quite unambiguous finding is that, at least for paddy in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, just the reverse is true: the smaller farmers spread out their sales over a longer time-span than do the bigger ones. Yet another generally held idea is that small fanners fetch lower prices than do the big farmers. This also is contradicted by our data. The average price secured by small farmers is actually higher than that secured by bigger farmers. This may be, at least in part, a reflection of the fact that the big fanners go in more for HYV paddy which fetches a lower price in the market than Is fetched by ordinary paddy.

Maiginalist Explanation for More Intense Labour Input in Smaller Farms Empirical Verification Ashok Rudra with the statistical assistance of Bela Bandopadhyaya As farm size increases, labour gets employed with increasing quantities of land and capital, but capital increases at a slower rate than does land. This results in increase in the average productivity of labour, but at a very low rate

states and communist parties will, however, in the long run cost them dear. Imperialism has been, and will in future too, exploit the sharp differences and contradictions between socialist states resulting from their intensely nationalistic postures. They must heed the warning of the Vietnamese communists contained in the above quoted Nhan Dan editorial:

Various researchers have of late praised the Indian farmer for his profit-maximising capacity and his allocative efficiency. This article questions the logical consistency of the analytical tools that have been used to arrive at this conclusion. It argues that the methodological drawbacks are so serious that nothing can be taken as proved or disproved about the allocative behaviour of Indian farmers.