" Shacked to the soil" , Inheriting Land Can Limit Employment Opportunities !
Research Fact
Contrary to theories emphasizing the importance of "asset ownership for helping the rural poor out of
poverty" , a study by A. Nilesh Fernando at Harvard shows that,
in India, inheriting agricultural land can both restrict migration to urban areas , and reduce the
likelihood of taking up non-agricultural work in rural areas .
The effect of inheriting an additional acre is 10 times as large ( for migration & for taking up non-
agricultural occupations) for those born into families with relatively small landholdings (less than 3
acres).
Reason ?
Because selling, renting, or leaving behind assets is restricted by CULTURL obligations — in this case,
Hindu custom requires that the ELDEST son in the family support his parents in their old age, which
often results in occupational succession — inheriting land can LIMIT mobility for the poor,
specifically FIRSTBORN sons, and therefore, suppress household consumption for firstborn sons and those
inheriting early in life.
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