ABSTRACT
This chapter contains an analysis of interstate variations in the effects of agricultural innovation on the total labor force in India. In the course of economic growth, the labor force experiences a structural transformation: the proportion of labor employed in the primary sector decreases, coinciding with the decrease in the proportion of national income derived from agriculture. The chapter focuses on changes in size and activity breakdown of the agricultural labor force that resulted from the application of green revolution technology. The state variations in the nature of the green revolution technology during the 1960s are reflected in the agricultural labor force and the changes it experienced. The effect of the green revolution on employment has been in dispute since the late 1960s. There are two aspects of the green revolution: biochemical and mechanical. An explanation of the interstate variation in green revolution characteristics entails state level differences in demand and supply of mechanical inputs.
