Ideas of India Steven Brownstone on Agricultural Subsidies, Mechanization, and Historical Land and Labor Institutions in India
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Oct 17, 2024 Steven Brownstone, a PhD candidate in economics at UC San Diego, shares his insights on agricultural mechanization in Telangana. He explores the impacts of mechanized drum seeders on productivity and labor displacement. The discussion delves into stagnant wages, women’s evolving roles in farming, and the necessity of government intervention for successful mechanization. Brownstone also addresses historical land concentration effects on current agricultural practices, emphasizing the complexities of subsidies and their implications for food security.
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Mechanization Eases Peak Labor Congestion
- Rice transplanting creates severe seasonal labor congestion that pushes wages to high peaks.
- Mechanization (drum seeders) removes that peak congestion rather than changing average wages much.
Experiment Built On State Extension Effort
- The drum seeder experiment piggybacked on an existing Telangana government extension push.
- Brownstone built rental markets and training on top of that government effort to test impacts.
Wages, Mechanization, And A Reversing Feedback
- Rising wages can motivate mechanization but lack of outside options lets mechanization depress wages again.
- This feedback loop slows structural transformation in regions with limited nonfarm opportunities.