The Interaction of International and National Institutions: Implications for Agriculture in West Bengal.
Abstract
Globalization is an uneven process in as much as people living in different parts of the world are affected very differently by this gigantic transformation of social structures and cultural zones. However, it is not just a process but an institutional form, embodying a host of international institutional arrangements governing trade, investment etc. It is possible for a state to respond to these global currents and trends with necessary policy changes and legislations. The 1980s thus witnessed in India a spate of institutional reforms seeking to liberalize the economy by weeding out outmoded institutions of protectionism like the licensing system and closures on international trade. In the realms of agriculture as well, India opened its hitherto protected seed industry to private companies. While a change in the rules did register an improvement in economic growth, development and growth did not percolate to the poor and marginalized farmers. That would be possible only by putting in place the necessary institutions to include the poor or protect them from exclusion from the benefits of growth-institutions that will function as a buckle, linking overall growth and poverty reduction.
Citation
IPPG Briefing Paper No. Nine, In Conjunction with CUTS International, DFID, London, UK, 7 pp.
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