Partition, Migration, and Jute Cultivation in India

Abstract

Abstract. Climate change is expected to displace millions of involuntary migrants in Bangladesh. We draw on history to show that these "environmental refugees" can play a positive role in the regions that receive them by looking at the partition of India. We use an instrumental variables (IV) strategy to show that the migrants played a major role in India's take-up of jute cultivation. Our estimates suggest that migrants fully explain post-Partition jute cultivation. Consistent with migrants bringing jute-specific skills with them, we find that migrants increased jute yields and did not increase the cultivation of other crops.

Displacement and development: Long term impacts of population transfer in India

“…They find that these institutions played an important role after the green revolution, where individual rights to ownership of land were a crucial aspect of districts that were able to take advantage of HYV seeds, fertilizers, and other agricultural technologies. This paper also builds on and extends the research that is directly related to the partition of India (Bharadwaj, Khwaja, and Mian, 2009;Jha and Wilkinson, 2012;Bharadwaj and Fenske, 2012). While these papers contribute in important ways to our understanding of the event by analyzing the demographic consequences of partition, the role of combat experience during WWII on ethnic cleansing during the partition, and the impact of partition related migratory movement on jute cultivation, they do not examine long run consequences.…”