ACCESSIBILITY AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IN NORTHERN INDIA∗

∗ The Indian field work profited immeasurably from the assistance of Murty Chadha. Valuable advice and critical comments were provided by David E. Sopher, and Lawrence A. Brown made helpful suggestions on an earlier version of the paper. Financial support was provided by the Division of Earth Sciences, National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council, and the Social Science Research Council.

ABSTRACT

Although empirical evidence has been scarce, technological change in agriculture can be expected to be influenced by the geometry of networks of personal communication. Data from a small sample of villages in India indicate a consistent association between accessibility to transportation facilities and the rate of technological change. Personal communication networks tend to correspond with transportation networks, but correlates of road transportation accessibility suggest that innovation is more clearly related to information-flow variables than strictly economic factors.

KEY WORDS:

• Agricultural development
• Diffusion of innovations
• Economic development
• Growth poles
• Information flow
• Regional development
• Technological change
• Transportation

Notes

∗ The Indian field work profited immeasurably from the assistance of Murty Chadha. Valuable advice and critical comments were provided by David E. Sopher, and Lawrence A. Brown made helpful suggestions on an earlier version of the paper. Financial support was provided by the Division of Earth Sciences, National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council, and the Social Science Research Council.