One cannot, therefore, easily adjust the amount of these inputs available to the land owned. Instead,individuals nd it easier to adjust the size of land cultivated to these inputs through tenancy contracts.
This extract highlights the idea that tenancy contracts act as an adjustment mechanism in a context of imperfect markets. The argument assumes that households respond mainly to economic constraints, especially labour availability. However, this explanation may be incomplete, as it underplays the role of social norms, caste relations, and power asymmetries in shaping access to land and contracts. Tenancy choices may therefore reflect social constraints as much as economic rationality. To what extent can tenancy contracts be explained by market imperfections alone, rather than by social and institutional factors?