India: Agrarian Contracts and Rural Poverty in India, 2013, linked

This study investigated to what extent traditional contractual arrangements, which are intertwined with kinship and caste relationships and may have an exploitative character, can explain the comparative lack of economic progress in the rural sector. Also, to what extent have better options outside traditional arrangements, whether in the rural or the urban economy, changed power relations in remote rural areas? Two government interventions were in focus, the rural employment guarantee scheme and the provision of all-weather roads. Particular attention was made to how their effects differ across castes and social groups. The analysis was based on panel data from rural Orissa, whereby a new round was added to surveys previously conducted by team members. Proceeding from the panel, interview both parties of contracts that rule in labor, credit, insurance and related transactions were collected, especially those between the poor and their wealthier neighbors in Indian villages. The data includes a household survey and village survey, and interviews with linked contract partners.

本研究旨在探究，与亲属及种姓关系交织且可能具有剥削性质的传统契约安排，在多大程度上能够解释农村部门经济进步相对滞后的现象。此外，传统契约安排之外的更优选择（无论位于农村还是城市经济领域），在多大程度上改变了偏远农村地区的权力关系？研究重点关注两项政府干预措施：农村就业保障计划（rural employment guarantee scheme）与全天候道路的建设。研究特别关注这些措施的效果在不同种姓及社会群体间的差异。分析基于印度奥里萨邦农村地区的面板数据（panel data）——研究团队在既往调查基础上新增了一轮调查。基于该面板数据，研究收集了规范劳动、信贷、保险及相关交易的契约双方访谈资料，尤其聚焦印度村庄中贫困群体与其富裕邻居之间的契约。数据集包含家庭调查、村庄调查，以及与关联契约伙伴的访谈资料。