Abstract
Conventionally, shifting cultivation has been interpreted as an inefficient and destructive practice. More recently, shifting cultivation has been viewed as an inflexible static system (institutionally) ill-suited for adapting to changes. This view holds that it slows agricultural production and causes ecological degradation. Keeping this in view, the present paper tries to identify various institutional forms, including customary institutions, property rights structures, market and technology at the micro level and the forest policies at the macro level which are influential towards decision-making in land use choice.