Resource information
This study documents the long-term
welfare effects of household non-traditional agricultural
export (NTX) adoption. The analysis uses a unique panel
dataset, which spans the period 1985-2005, and employs
difference-in-differences estimation to investigate the
long-term impact of non-traditional agricultural export
adoption on changes in household consumption status and
asset position in the Central Highlands of Guatemala. Given
the heterogeneity in adoption patterns, the analysis
differentiates the impact estimates based on a
classification of households that takes into account the
timing and duration of non-traditional agricultural export
adoption. The results show that while, on average, welfare
levels have improved for all households irrespective of
adoption status and duration, the extent of improvement has
varied across groups. Long-term adopters exhibit the
smallest increase in the lapse of two decades, in spite of
some early gains. Conversely, early adopters who withdrew
from non-traditional agricultural export production after
reaping the benefits of the boom period of the 1980s are
found to have fared better and shown greater improvements in
durable asset position and housing conditions than any other category.
