Do indigenous peoples benefit from poverty programs? Evidence from Mexico's 2000 census

  • Oscar J. Cárdenas Rodríguez Universidad de Guanajuato
  • Gabriel González König Universidad de Guanajuato
  • Diana Ojeda Revah COESPO, Guanajuato
  • Quentin Wodon Poverty Group for Latin America at the World Bank
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24201/ee.v19i1.176
Keywords: Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Mexico, PROGRESA, FISM, PROCAMPO, poverty
JEL Classification: H22, I38, R58

Abstract

Indigenous peoples are among the poorest in Latin America, and it is often argued that social policies do not reach them. At the same time, several countries have implemented in recent years new programs for poverty reduction that should have benefited the indigenous. In this paper, we use data from Mexico's 2000 census to test whether indigenous peoples living in the southern states of Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca benefit from three large government programs: PROGRESA, FISM, and PROCAMPO. We find that indigenous peoples are benefiting more than non-indigenous peoples from these programs, which are reducing poverty in a substantial way.

References

Bello, A. M. and M. Rangel (2000). Etnicidad, raza y equidad en América Latina y el Caribe, CEPAL, Chile.

Cord, C., and Q. Wodon (2001). “Do Mexico´s Agricultural Programs Alleviate Poverty? Evidence from the Ejido Sector”, Cuadernos de Economía, sol. 114, pp. 239-256.

Foster, J., J. Greer, and E. Thorbecke (1984). “A Class of Decomposable Poverty Measures”, Econometrica, vol. 52, pp. 761-766.

Giugale, M. M. and S. B. Webb (eds.) (2000). Achievements and Challenges of Fiscal Decentralization: Lessons from Mexico, World Bank, Washington DC.

Psacharopoulos, G., and H. A. Patrinos (eds.) (1994). Indigenous People and Poverty in Latin America, Avebury, Aldershot.

Sadoulet. E., A. de Janvry and B. Davis (2001). “Cash Transfers Programs with Multipliers: PROCAMPO in Mexico”, World Development, vol. 29(6), pp. 1043-1056.

Skoufias, Emmanuel (2001). PROGRES and its Impacts on Human Capital and Welfare of the Households in Rural Mexico: A Synthesis of the Results of an Evaluation, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC.

Stavenhagen, R. (1999). “The Indigenous Peoples of Latin America in a Globalized Economy”, International Policy Review, vol. 8, pp. 133-141.

Wodon, Q. et al (2002). “The Impact of Public Transfers on Inequality and Social Welfare: Comparing Mexico´s PROGRESA to other Government Programs”, Research on Income Inequality (forthcoming).

Wodon, Q. et al (2001). “Poverty in Latin America: Trends (1986-1998) and Determinants”, Cuadernos de Economía, vol. 114, pp. 127-154.

Published
01-01-2004
How to Cite
Cárdenas RodríguezO., González KönigG., Ojeda RevahD., & WodonQ. (2004). Do indigenous peoples benefit from poverty programs? Evidence from Mexico’s 2000 census. Estudios Económicos, 19(1), 125-135. https://doi.org/10.24201/ee.v19i1.176
Issue
37-vol. 19, no. 1, january-june, 2004
Section
Articles
  • Abstract viewed - 406 times
  • PDF downloaded: 165 times