Analysis of Subsistence and Well-Being Strategies Through a Model of Household Economics in the Tlacolula Valley of Oaxaca State, Mexico

Abstract

Survival and well-being strategies of rural households are analyzed using the model of rural household economies (MRHE). There were selected three localities of the semiarid valley of Tlacolula located in the Central Valleys region of Oaxaca state, Mexico. Equations of MRHE were constructed by regression of ordinary least squares. The information on variables was obtained through a probabilistic household survey. Thus, it was possible to measure the impact of these variables on household well-being. The results show that households in this valley are looking to diversify their income sources through several local and regional economic activities. Thus, households intend to increase their well-being level, according to the availability of resources at household and the community. International migration and government transfers are the main sources of exogenous income that allow an increase in household well-being. In addition, some households invest in small family businesses whose net income contributes to the household income. Collection and hunting are part of the lifestyle of households that have survived in this valley since pre-Hispanic times and they are just subsistence activities.