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Library Is There Surplus Labor in Rural India?

Is There Surplus Labor in Rural India?

Is There Surplus Labor in Rural India?

Resource information

Date of publication
October 2010
Resource Language
ISBN / Resource ID
AGRIS:US2016207808

We show empirically using panel data at the plot and farm level and based on a model incorporating supervision costs, risk, credit-market imperfections and scale-economies associated with mechanization that small-scale farming is inefficient in India. Larger farms are more profitable per acre, more mechanized, less constrained in input use after bad shocks, and employ less per-acre labor than small farms. Based on our structural estimates of the effects of farm size on labor use and the distribution of Indian landholdings, we estimate that over 20% of the Indian agricultural labor force is surplus if minimum farm scale is 20 acres.

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Authors and Publishers

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s)

Foster, Andrew D.
Rosenzweig, Mark R.

Data Provider
Geographical focus