Reports
Discussion Papers
No.590 Partition, Independence, and Population Geography in Bengal
by Abu S. Shonchoy and Kenmei Tsubota
March 2016
ABSTRACT
This
study
quantitatively
explores
the
changing
population
geography
in
Bengal,
with
a
particular
focus
on
Partition
in
India
in
1947
and
Independence
of
Bangladesh
in
1971.
Based
on
decadal
census
data
from
1901
to
2001
at
the
district
level,
this
paper
explores
how
trends
in
regional
population
growth
evolved
with
such
historical
events.
Following
Redding
and
Sturm
(2008),
Differences-in-Differences
estimation
is
also
employed.
Estimation
results
show
that
there
were
different
shocks
on
both
sides
and
from
both
events.
In
West
Bengal,
the
change
in
the
regional
population
trends
occurred
in
1947
and
remained
similar
thereafter.
On
the
other
hand,
in
East
Bengal,
the
population
growth
became
statistically
significant
after
1971.
Further
robustness
checks
show
that
the
impacts
were
not
uniform
with
respect
to
the
distance
from
the
border.
Overall
analyses
show
that
the
emergence
of
the
international
border
in
Bengal
had
asymmetric
impacts
on
both
sides.
Keywords:
regional
population
dynamics,
border
regions,
partition
and
independence
JEL
classification:
F15,
N95,
R12,
R23
Please note that discussion papers are works in various stages of progress and most have not been edited and proofread and may contain errors of fact or judgment. Revised versions of these papers may subsequently appear in more formal publication series. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). The IDE does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included and accepts no responsibility for any consequences arising from its use.