Dear All, 

You might consider some work that is critical of Sen's interpretation on empirical grounds relating to the reality of food supply. See 

Mark B. Tauger, 'Entitlement, Shortage and the 1943 Bengal Famine: Another Look'
The Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol.31, No.l, October 2003, pp.45-72

There was an exchange with Amartya Sen in the New York Review of Books, 24 March 2011. 

Both items can be found on Google and downloaded. 

All best, Avner Offer
=======================================================
 From Avner Offer, Chichele Professor Emeritus of Economic History, University of Oxford
     All Souls College, High St., Oxford OX1 4AL, tel. +44 (0)7551960880
    email: [log in to unmask]
    personal website:
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Recently published: Burn Mark: A Photographic Memoir of the Six Day War. See www.avneroffer.net
________________________________________
From: Societies for the History of Economics [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Henry, John [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 16 April 2015 15:22
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [SHOE] Sen and the 1943 Bengal Famine

Rob,

Yes, I'd like to see how hoarding linked up directly with famine. On something of this note, however, I came across a reference to hoarding of silver coins by Indian peasants in the period toward the end of WWI. It doesn't address the Bengal famine, of course, but apparently the peasantry did not like (trust?) paper currency. During periods of turbulence, they did engage in hoarding, at least on one significant occasion. There were probably more such periods, but Adam Tooze's, The Deluge (pp. 209-11) doesn't cover these. I'm curious as to whether the causality might be reversed--famine induces hoarding?

John

John F. Henry
Department of Economics
University of Missouri-Kansas City
5100 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO 64110-2449

Email: [log in to unmask]

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From: Societies for the History of Economics [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Rob Tye [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2015 5:51 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [SHOE] Sen and the 1943 Bengal Famine

John,

In British India times, feudatory native rulers of India met under the
auspices of “The Chamber of Princes” to discuss problems of common interest

The agenda for November 8th 1943 presents the opinion of various state
members that “the shortage of small coins” was “mainly responsible for the
hoarding of food grains”

At least 22 states subsequently went on to issue emergency supplies of small
change, mostly in the form of cardboard tokens.

Sen does not seem to deal with this matter, nor does Mukerjee.

I agree the matter looks, prima facie, “suspicious”, but remain cautious
concerning who to suspect, and, of what?

Rob Tye, York , UK