THE EFFECT OF MARKET ECONOMIES ON THE WELL-BEING OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND ON THEIR USE OF RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCES

TLDR

Rigorous empirical studies linking market economies to the well‑being of indigenous peoples or their use of renewable natural resources have yet to take off. The study assesses how market exposure affects indigenous peoples’ well‑being and conservation of natural resources to inform public policy and test sociocultural change hypotheses. The authors review existing studies on market impacts on subsistence, health, nutrition, social capital, traditional ecological knowledge, and renewable resource use, noting that unclear effects stem from small samples, cross‑sectional data, measurement disagreements, and endogeneity biases. Market exposure yields mixed effects on both well‑being and conservation outcomes.

Abstract

Assessing the effects of markets on the well-being of indigenous peoples and their conservation of natural resources matters to identify public policies to improve well-being and enhance conservation and to test hypotheses about sociocultural change. We review studies about how market economies affect the subsistence, health, nutritional status, social capital, and traditional ecological knowledge of indigenous peoples and their use of renewable natural resources. Market exposure produces mixed effects on well-being and conservation. Unclear effects arise from the small sample size of observations; reliance on cross-sectional data or short panels; lack of agreement on the measure of key variables, such as integration to the market or folk knowledge, or whether to rely on perceived or objective indicators of health; and endogeneity biases. Rigorous empirical studies linking market economies with the well-being of indigenous peoples or their use of renewable natural resources have yet to take off.