Changing Living Standards in Southern Indian Villages 1975--2006: Revisiting the ICRISAT Village Level Studies

We study changes in living conditions using longitudinal data covering 30 years in six villages in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, initially surveyed during 1975--1984, and resurveyed in recent years, as part of the ICRISAT Village Level Studies. Monetary welfare indicators (such as incomes, assets, consumption and poverty) and non-monetary indicators of well-being (such as basic literacy, education, health and subjective well-being) have improved considerably. Consumption growth is linked to literacy and education at baseline. Other assets, such as land, have a neglible impact, suggesting that labour and human capital have been instrumental for growth in these villages.Change involved a large increase in various off-farm activities.