Agrarian transition in small open societies. The case of Caribbean economies

This paper explores how the openness and smallness of societies<br/>affect agrarian transition and industrialisation. Covering the<br/>period 1900–1980, the paper discusses a case of British Indian<br/>rice peasantry that was not subjected to a ruling agrarian class,<br/>where the Dutch state modernised the rice sector, the transfer of<br/>resources to the urban sector was limited, and industrialisation<br/>failed miserably. The paper argues that the inputs for<br/>industrialisation can be supplied by sectors other than<br/>agriculture. It thus deals with a model of agrarian transition and<br/>failed industrialisation as shaped by the small scale and openness<br/>of the society.