Evolution of Land Distribution in West Bengal 1967-2004

This paper uses data from a household survey to estimate changes in land distribution in rural West Bengal between 1967-2004 and decompose these into contributions of different factors. There was a substantial drop in land per household and land per capita, while within-village inequality rose. The latter was associated mainly with rising landlessness induced by high rates of household division for marginal and small landowning households. Conversely, division of large landowning households reduced inequality. [Working Paper No. 2011/31] URL: [http://www.wider.unu.edu/publications/working-papers/2011/en_GB/wider-working-papers-2011/?startAt=31&sortField=1&sortDir=asc]