Indigenous Peoples in Latin America : Economic Opportunities and Social Networks

Despite significant changes in poverty
overall in Latin America, the proportion of indigenous
peoples living in poverty did not change much from the early
1990s to the present. While earlier work focused on human
development, much less has been done on the distribution and
returns to income-generating assets and the effect these
have on income generation strategies. The authors show that
low income and low assets are mutually reinforcing. For
instance, low education levels translate into low income,
resulting in poor health and reduced schooling for future
generations. Social networks affect the economic
opportunities of individuals through two important
channels-information and norms. However, the analysis shows
that the networks available to indigenous peoples do not
facilitate employment in nontraditional sectors.