Agrarian Impasse in Bengal: Institutional Constraints to Technological Change (The ^ALibrary of Political Economy)

Why are Bangladesh and the neighboring state of West Bengal home to some of the world's poorest people when the region was once legendary for its agricultural abundance? This book explores the region's agricultural performance from 1949 to 1980 using demographic, technological and institutional determinants. Drawing from the most up-to-date output and growth data available, Boyce points to problems in drainage and flood control as the primary barrier to fulfillment of the region's great potential.