ABSTRACT
The present chapter rests on three main foundations. The first one consists of some recent advances in empirical knowledge of underdeveloped economies. During the past decade, evidence has rapidly accumulated which demonstrates that the distribution of incomes in rural districts of less developed countries as well as the absolute standard of living of the rural masses in these economies is highly dependent on the degree of concentration of landownership, that rapid overall growth in the economy does not guarantee that those in the most precarious situation can improve their relative or even their absolute position, and that the economic policies employed often create a bias which runs mainly in class terms and which tends to disfavor the already poor in rural areas. 1 The fact that we live and act economically in 'a world of monopolies' 2 (and monopsonies) is not unimportant if we are to gain a fuller understanding of the main determinants behind the low and/or falling real incomes of large population segments in the less developed countries.
