MIDDLE INDIA AND URBAN-RURAL DEVELOPMENT:: Four Decades of Change

Book Details

• Publisher: Springer

• Author: Barbara Harriss-White

• Language: English

• Edition: 2018

• ISBN: 9788132237891

• Pages: 338

• Cover: Hardcover

• Sale Territory: India Only

About the Book
Middle India and Urban-Rural Development explores the socio-economic conditions of 'Middle India'—the small towns that are often neglected in large-scale economic analyses and micro-level studies. These towns are crucial to understanding the economic and social fabric of India, as they house the majority of the population who engage in daily trade, politics, and family life. Focusing on the town of Arni in northern Tamil Nadu, this book provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary perspective on the evolving relationship between small towns and their rural hinterlands.

The book covers long-term changes in the town, particularly since 1973, and highlights the economic dynamism of such regions that are often overlooked in broader economic discussions. It reveals how government policies, when disconnected from the realities of small-town life, can lead to unintended, sometimes counterproductive consequences.

Through ten essays contributed by Barbara Harriss-White and her research team, the book delves into the changing nature of business, labor markets, and production in Arni and its surroundings. The essays analyze local capitalism, the impact of caste on production relations, technological changes, informal credit systems, and the agrarian crisis in rural areas. The authors track these developments while exploring the complexities of local-global integration and the dynamics of urban-rural relations.

By presenting Arni as a case study, the book also offers valuable insights for global development audiences, as similar patterns can be found in small towns across other developing countries. The book stands out for its detailed field research, offering a grounded, place-based perspective on the economic transformation and social dynamics of small towns in India.

Contents

1. Introduction: The Economic Dynamism of Middle India – Barbara Harriss-White

2. Local-Global Integration, Diversification and Informality: Long-Term Change in Arni During the Late Twentieth Century – Elisabetta Basile

3. Arni’s Workforce: Segmentation Processes, Labour Market Mobility, Self-Employment, and Caste – M.V. Srinivasan

4. ‘Local Capitalism’ and the Development of the Rice Economy, 1973–2010 – Barbara Harriss-White

5. A Future Not so Golden: Liberalization, Mechanization, and Conflict in Arni’s Gold Ornaments Cluster – Jason Stanley

6. The Impact of Caste on Production Relations in Arni: A Gramscian Analysis – Elisabetta Basile

7. Technological Change and Innovation in Middle India: The Case of Arni’s Silk Cluster – Camilla Roman

8. The Making and Unmaking of Handloom Silk Weaving in the Arni Region – N.A. Arivukkarasi

9. Institutional Change in Informal Credit: Through the Urban-Rural Lens – Christine Polzin

10. Feeling Rich on an Empty Stomach: Agrarian Crisis and Rural Consumption Choices – Marco Cavalcante

11. Epilogue: The Future for Small Towns – The Case of Arni–or Ambur or Ranipet or Tiruppur or...? – Barbara Harriss-White

12. The Arni Studies Bibliography, 1976–2014 – Compiled by Barbara Harriss-White

About the Author
Barbara Harriss-White is an Emeritus Fellow and Professor of Development Studies at Oxford University. She is a Senior Research Fellow in Area Studies at Oxford and the co-ordinator of the South Asia Research Cluster at Wolfson College, Oxford. A Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, she has written and edited over 35 books and contributed more than 225 journal papers and book chapters, primarily on India. Her research interests include India’s small towns, informal economies, agriculture, and the politics of economic regulation and policy, with a focus on social deprivation.