ABSTRACT
The widespread adoption of the new rice technology in Asia has generated an extended discussion among development specialists over the distribution of the resulting economic improvements. Some scholars maintain that the new technology has narrowed the income gap between the rich and the poor while others find evidence for the opposite case. There are important arguments on both sides, and this lack of consensus is reflected in the bits of empirical evidence that different scholars cite, on the interpretation of that evidence, and in the divergent models and theoretical frameworks that have been developed. In this chapter, we will simply review the current empirical research rather than make value judgments.
