Beyond a generalized deagrarianization: Livelihood heterogeneity and its determinants in the Mixteca Alta, Mexico

Abstract

In recent decades, rural livelihoods across the global South have increasingly turned away from farming. This process of “deagrarianization” is frequently seen as a uniform reaction to pervasive institutional and economic pressures against small-scale farming. Evidence at local scales, however, shows that households tend to adjust heterogeneously to such pressures, which challenges assumptions of uniform obstacles and/or motivations shaping deagrarianization. Studying this heterogeneity in livelihood adjustments and their drivers represents a key first step towards understanding the varying implications in terms of welfare and vulnerability for rural households. To that end, this paper investigates the manifestations and determinants of livelihood heterogeneity in the Mixteca Alta, a region in southern Mexico whose economy has shifted drastically away from agriculture over recent decades. Drawing on cluster analysis and machine learning applied to survey and secondary data, we show that this economic shift has actually unfolded in contrasting ways across households, with some diversifying across both agricultural and non-agricultural activities and others specializing in non-agricultural occupations. Much of this differentiation in livelihood strategies rests upon an unequal distribution of assets like land, education, and financial capital interacting with an uneven economic context in terms of road accessibility and aggregate poverty. By revealing the underlying conditions that enable and restrict occupational opportunities across households, our study emphasizes the need to move beyond one-size-fits-all interventions to enhance livelihood security in rural spaces.