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Social Networks among Indigenous Peoples in Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Emmanuel Skoufias ,
Trine Lunde  and
Harry Anthony Patrinos
Emmanuel Skoufias
Affiliation:
World Bank
Trine Lunde
Affiliation:
World Bank
Harry Anthony Patrinos
Affiliation:
World Bank
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Abstract

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We examine the extent to which social networks among indigenous peoples in Mexico have a significant effect on a variety of human capital investment and economic activities, such as school attendance and work among teenage boys and girls, and migration, welfare participation, employment status, occupation, and sector of employment among adult males and females. Using data from the 10 percent population sample of the 2000 Population and Housing Census of Mexico and the empirical strategy that Bertrand, Luttmer, and Mullainathan (2000) propose, which allows us to take into account the role of municipality and language group fixed effects, we confirm empirically that social network effects play an important role in the economic decisions of indigenous people, especially in rural areas. Our analysis also provides evidence that better access to basic services such as water and electricity increases the size and strength of network effects in rural areas.

Resumo

Resumo

Investigamos hasta qué punto las redes sociales entre pueblos indígenas tienen un efecto significativo para una variedad de inversiones de capital humano y de actividades económicas, tal como la asistencia escolar y el trabajo entre niños y niñas adolescentes, y la migración, la participación a prestaciones sociales, la situación laboral, la profesión y el sector laboral entre adultos de sexo masculino y femenino. Utilizando datos de la muestra del 10 por ciento del Censo de Población y Vivienda 2000 de México y la estrategia empírica propuesta por Bertrand y otros (2000) que nos permite tener en cuenta el papel de efectos fijos de municipio y grupo de lenguaje, confirmamos empíricamente que los efectos de redes sociales juegan un papel importante en las decisiones económicas de personas indígenas, especialmente en zonas rurales. Nuestro análisis también proporciona pruebas de que un mejor acceso a los servicios básicos como el agua y la electricidad aumentan el tamaño y la fuerza de los efectos de redes en zonas rurales.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , 2010 , pp. 49 - 67
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the Latin American Studies Association

Footnotes

This article is extracted from a World Bank Regional Study financed by the Regional Studies Program of the Office of the Chief Economist of the Latin America and Caribbean Region. The team is grateful to Christian Borja-Vega for data support and analysis. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this article are entirely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the World Bank, its board of directors, or the countries it represents.

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