During the last two decades West Bengal has led the rest of the country with regard to agricultural performance andimplementation of panchayat institutions. But these developments have begun to level out. At the same time the state hasfallen behind in other sectors – industry, higher education...

The paper analyzes the effect of agricultural tenancy laws offeringsecurity of tenure to tenants and regulating the share of output thatis paid as rent on farm productivity. Theoretically, the net impact oftenancy reform is shown to be a combination of two effects: a bargainingpower effect and a...