Economic Openness, Corn Prices, and Rural Communities in Guatemala

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One component of globalization is the economic interaction between markets; to facilitate this interaction governments have taken steps to make their borders more permeable to trade. The increased fluidity of products has had an effect on local prices. In this paper I will exemplify one effect that is the trend of price of corn in Guatemala has the same slope as the price of corn in the US, in the period of 1980 to 2006. The implication of this price similarity needs to be studied as the push for increased market integration of Guatemala with other countries continues. These are the first steps of a study trying to describe the adaptations undertaken by rural communities to the economic policies that Guatemala’s government promotes.

Stream: Economic Perspectives

Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

I grew up in Guatemala and received my undergraduate degree (Licentiate) in Biology from the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, where my thesis focused on comparing how forest vegetation regenerated after different agricultural techniques. This research prompted me to try to understand how nature responded to human disturbances, and lead me to complete a Master in Science from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. While I was at U of M, I realized the extent to which human societies and political decisions are implicated in changes in nature caused by humans. I understood that I needed to acquire the research tools used by anthropologists to ask scientifically sound questions about what factors affect human decisions that cause changes in nature.