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Who crops coca and why? The case of Colombian farmers

Author

Listed:
  • Marcela Ibáñez

    (Georg-August-University Göttingen)

Abstract

Approximately 1.2% of Colombia’s GNP is spent every year on the war on drugs, but very little is known about coca farming decisions at the household level. In order to understand the decision to cultivate coca as well as that of the amount of land to use for its cultivation, we develop an extended version of the portfolio model of crime that considers the effects of behavioral norms and lack of options in the legal economy. The model is tested using data from an original survey with coca and non-coca farmers living in Putumayo, Colombia. We find that farmers react to economic incentives and hence eradication and substitution programs reduce coca cultivation. More interestingly, we find that coca cultivation decisions are explained by moral considerations as well as by the impossibility of making a living from legal forms of agriculture.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcela Ibáñez, 2010. "Who crops coca and why? The case of Colombian farmers," Courant Research Centre: Poverty, Equity and Growth - Discussion Papers 40, Courant Research Centre PEG.
    • Handle: RePEc:got:gotcrc:040
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Coca; Colombia; Portfolio Model of Crime; Norms of Behavior;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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