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Cambridge Journal of Economics Advance Access originally published online on January 3, 2008
Cambridge Journal of Economics 2008 32(4):577-591; doi:10.1093/cje/bem057
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

The organisational morphology of rural industries and its dynamics in liberalised India: a study of West Bengal

Dibyendu Maiti*

* Centre for Studies in Social Sciences Calcutta, India

Address for correspondence: Centre for Studies in Social Sciences Calcutta, R-1, Baishnabghata-Patuli Township, Kolkata 700 094, West Bengal, India; email: dibyendu{at}cssscal.org

The paper presents an empirical investigation into alternative forms of organisation of rural industries and their dynamics in the post-reform period of India by means of a field survey carried out in the state of West Bengal in 2001–02. The selected industries (handloom, brassware, hornware, clay works, conchshell and lac works) all belong to traditional crafts. The major organisational forms are ‘independent units’ and ‘tied units’, the latter being tied to traders and/or master enterprises for raw materials and work-orders, each of which account for more than 40% of our sample units. The third form, ‘cooperative units’, is clearly in the decline. Tied units appear to define the upcoming trend bringing the forces released by ‘liberalisation’, e.g., the growth of exports, drawn to the level of village-artisans. In particular, the system appears to be a vehicle for product-differentiation and innovation, both of which are very much evident in our study area.

Key Words: Production organisation • Rural industry • Tying up • Stage delegation • Aesthetic value

JEL classifications: B53, D23, J54, L33, M55, O18

Manuscript received March 21, 2005; final version received November 5, 2007.


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