Poor rural households, technical change and income distribution in LDC"s; annual report, 1976/1977

DURATION: JULY 1, 1976-ONGOING. DEVELOPMENTS: THE PROVINCES OF LAGUNA AND LUZON IN THE PHILIPPINES, A COASTAL REGION OF JAVA IN INDONESIA, AND A SAMPLE OF VILLAGES IN ANDHRA PRADESH IN INDIA WERE CHOSEN AS TYPICAL OF A BROAD SPECTRUM OF ASIAN PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES. MOST SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURE IN THE ASIAN LOWLANDS CENTERS AROUND PADDY RICE, WITH OTHER GRAINS AND TUBERS PLAYING A LESS IMPORTANT ROLE. RESEARCH WAS COMPLETED IN THE PHILIPPINES ON THE IMPACT OF IMPROVED RICE PRODUCTION ON INCOME ACCRUING TO VARIOUS FACTORS OF PRODUCTION, LANDLORDS, TENANTS AND LANDLESS LABORERS. AS LAND-HOLDERS" INCOME INCREASED BECAUSE OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGY, HIRED LABOR WAS SUBSTITUTED FOR FAMILY LABOR. THE DEMAND FOR HIRED LABOR AND ITS SHARE OF OUTPUT INCREASED. FIELD WORK WAS COMPLETED ON A STUDY EXAMINING FAMILY DECISION-MAKING, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATED TO THE SUPPLY OF MALE AND FEMALE LABOR AMONG FAMILIES WITH VARYING RESOURCES. CROPPING PATTERNS AND INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN ANDHRA PRADESH HAVE BEEN ALTERED BY TRACTOR MECHANIZATION OF LAND PREPARATION, HARVESTING AND TRANSPORTATION. PRIMARY DATA WAS COLLECTED IN SIX VILLAGES ON THE AVAILABILITY OF TRACTORS AND HOW THAT HAS ALTERED THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR LABOR ON FARMS WITH A WIDE RANGE OF CROPPING COMBINATIONS. TWO RELATED PROJECTS IN NEPAL ARE DESCRIBED. ONE DEALS WITH THE ROLE OF HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION IN THE PROCESS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE OTHER EVALUATES THE TECHNICAL TRANSFERS AND INCOME DISTRIBUTION ASPECTS OF MULTIPLE CROPPING. ALL RESEARCH PROGRESS AND RESULTS ARE DISCUSSED IN DETAIL. SIX PUBLICATION ABSTRACTS ARE INCLUDED IN THE APPENDIX.