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Human capital investment and long-term poverty reduction in rural Mexico

Author

Listed:
  • Paul Winters

    (AU - American University Washington D.C.)

  • Vera Chiodi

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

By focusing on human capital investment, the Mexican Oportunidades program will influence the economic choices of the rural poor. To understand how beneficiaries may alter their behavior as a result of this intervention, this paper uses administrative data to analyze the economic activities of the Mexican rural poor. Results indicate that investments in education are likely to shift recipients from agricultural wage employment toward non-farm wage employment. The magnitude of this impact will be influenced by household assets and by the location of the household. The results suggest the need for policies that complement the government's focus on human capital investment.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Winters & Vera Chiodi, 2008. "Human capital investment and long-term poverty reduction in rural Mexico," PSE Working Papers halshs-00586227, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-00586227
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00586227v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Winters, Paul & Davis, Benjamin & Corral, Leonardo, 2002. "Assets, activities and income generation in rural Mexico: factoring in social and public capital," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 139-156, August.
    2. Benjamin Davis & Paul Winters & Gero Carletto & Katia Covarrubias & Esteban Quinones & Alberto Zezza & Kostas Stamoulis & Genny Bonomi & Stefania DiGiuseppe, 2007. "Rural Income Generating Activities; A Cross Country Comparison," Working Papers 07-16, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    3. World Bank, 2004. "Poverty in Mexico : An Assessment of Conditions, Trends, and Government Strategy," World Bank Publications - Reports 13829, The World Bank Group.
    4. Winters, Paul & Davis, Benjamin & Carletto, Gero & Covarrubias, Katia & Quiñones, Esteban J. & Zezza, Alberto & Azzarri, Carlo & Stamoulis, Kostas, 2009. "Assets, Activities and Rural Income Generation: Evidence from a Multicountry Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1435-1452, September.
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    7. Davis, Benjamin & Winters, Paul & Carletto, Gero & Covarrubias, Katia & Quiñones, Esteban J. & Zezza, Alberto & Stamoulis, Kostas & Azzarri, Carlo & DiGiuseppe, Stefania, 2010. "A Cross-Country Comparison of Rural Income Generating Activities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 48-63, January.
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    9. World Bank, 2005. "Income Generation and Social Protection for the Poor," World Bank Publications - Reports 8815, The World Bank Group.
    10. Tom Hertz, 2009. "The effect of nonfarm income on investment in Bulgarian family farming," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(2), pages 161-176, March.
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    2. Pablo Aguilera & Manoj Chandra Bayon, 2020. "The transformative effect of investments in territorial capital on poverty reduction: evidence from rural México," TEC Empresarial, School of Business, Costa Rica Institute of Technology (ITCR), vol. 14(3), pages 72-91.
    3. Hejnowicz, Adam P. & Raffaelli, David G. & Rudd, Murray A. & White, Piran C.L., 2014. "Evaluating the outcomes of payments for ecosystem services programmes using a capital asset framework," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 9(C), pages 83-97.
    4. Youmanli OUOBA, 2018. "Industrial mining land use and poverty in regions of Burkina Faso," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(4), pages 511-520, July.
    5. Kazeem B. Ajide & Olorunfemi Y. Alimi & Simplice A. Asongu, 2024. "Intelligence and its Effects on Environmental Decline: A Worldwide Analysis," Journal of Africa SEER Centre(ASC) 24/004, Africa SEER Centre(ASC).
    6. Solomon Zena Walelign & Mariève Pouliot & Helle Overgaard Larsen & Carsten Smith-Hall, 2015. "A novel approach to dynamic livelihood clustering: Empirical evidence from Nepal," IFRO Working Paper 2015/09, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.

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