ABSTRACT
I have taken advantage of my short stay in Cambridge to spend two full days in the Alfred Marshall Library to read carefully his ‘Principles’, which inspired me with regard both to his analysis of the investment in human capital to develop the labourer’s productive potential (chapters 1 and 3, book I) and to his emphasis on the importance of studying land tenure by the economist (chapter 4, book II). I have also taken this opportunity to examine the preliminary results of the seminal work of Professors Dasgupta and Ray on the effects of inequality of the distribution of assets on malnutrition and unemployment which is expected to be published next year.1 My interest in their work is in its relevance to the effects of the redistribution of land in the densely populated developing countries, where the supply of cultivable land is limited and the competitive labour and land markets in agriculture have failed. I suggest, to begin with, some general propositions on the meaning of com-
mand over food and the links between land-holding productivity and food intake as the biological necessity for survival. This includes the specification of occupational groups in agriculture who are landless and malnourished. Next, I present some empirical evidence for assessing the connection between land holding and nutrition status associated with the extent of land redistribution in developing countries.
