Nepal: A State of Poverty by David Seddon
Vikas Publishing House 1987
Review by R.S. Mali at
This is the latest in a series of published works on Nepal by the author (including Nepal in Crisis, 1980). A common theme through his works has been that the state of under-dcvelopmenl, poverty and crisis in Nepal is not purely an economic phenomenon and should be understood in the broader context of the political economy and class relationships. In his analysis of these issues, the author´s contributions on the Nepali economy differ from those of other individuals and national and international agencies. Seddon starts by reviewing the political economy of the population growth in the historical context. Population increased as a result of state policy to encourage immigration to augment the labour force. Increased population resulted in land reclamation to increase agricultural output and raise state revenue. While the balance between fertility and mortality changed drastically for the better in the second half of the twentieth century, agricultural production failed to keep pace with population growth, both in the Tarai and hills.
The author explains economic inequality and poverty in terms of unequal ownership of land and social inequality based on caste, ethnic and gender factors. Another theme the author repeats in this book is the environmental deterioration caused by population growth, deforestation and land erosion.