The Rice Economies

"This is a magnificent book, which deserves special praise for having achieved a truly exemplary balance between scholarly and practical significance."--Paul Richards, "New Scientist

Francesca Bray is Professor of Anthropology at University of California, Santa Barbara and author of Agriculture, Volume VI, part 2 in Joseph Needham's Science and Civilization in China (1984).

List of figures and tables Chinese dynasties Japanese eras Preface Acknowledgements Maps Introduction Eurocentric models of historical change An alternative model The significance of a model of development for rice economies 1 The rice-plant: diversity and intensification The origins of Asian rice Natural characteristics of rice Selection techniques 2 Paths of technical development Building new fields Raising yields Labour productivity and the mechanisation question 3 Water control Water control and institutions: the debate A technical classification of water control systems Gravity-fed irrigation networks Ponds, tanks and reservoirs Contour canals 'Creek' irrigation Pump irrigation schemes Patterns of growth and change 4 Rice and the wider economy 'Skill-oriented' and 'mechanical' technologies The specificity of wet-rice agriculture Uniformity and systemic change Monoculture and markets Economic diversification Petty commodity production and rural industrialisation 5 Development Some basic issues Labour and capital The historical experience: the predominance of labour and the 'Japanese model' Choice of technological inputs Capital investment Productivity of labour and capital Expertise and participation 6 Peasant, landlord and state: changes in relations of production Conflict, cooperation and control Historical changes in relations of production 'Feudal' relations and frontier zones Smallholder economies: expansion and stagnation Egalitarianism or differentiation: the impact of capitalism Land and landlessness 'Land to the tiller' Group farming Socialist land reform Appendix A: The Western model Appendix B: The historical experience of China Appendix C: The Japanese experience Notes References Glossary Index