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Abstract
Land reforms were successfully implemented in the state of West Bengal through
a special program undertaken in 1978 by the then state government. These reforms
brought large amount of land under permanent and inheritable tenancy. We use a
survey data of nearly 9000 plots from 2000 households in 142 villages in West
Bengal to ascertain that both productivity and long-term investments on such land
are significantly lower than the land under ownership. We also find evidence for
lower levels of input usage on the tenancy plots as compared to those which are
fully owned by the cultivator. Programs to allow land reform beneficiaries to
acquire full ownership could thus have significant benefits