Induced intensification: Agricultural change in Bangladesh with implications for Malthus and Boserup

摘要

Bangladesh is dominated by a small-holder agrarian economy under extreme stress. Production short- falls, increasing economic polarization, and chronic malnu- trition are persistent, but major famine has been diverted in part by significant growth in agriculture. This recent history is open to both Malthusian and Boserupian interpreta- tions - a history we explore here through a test of the induced intensification thesis of agricultural change. This thesis, framed by variations in the behavior of small-holders, has grown from a simple demand-production relationship to a consideration of the mediating influences on that relationship.