The Economic Impact of Marena’s Investments on Sustainable Agricultural Systems in Honduras
研究了洪都拉斯MARENA项目投资对受益农户农业总产值的影响，发现该项目显著提高了产值，并带来高于预期的内部收益率，支持了自然资源管理项目在增加收入和保护资源方面的作用。
This study examines the economic impact of sustainable agricultural production systems in Central America. In particular, we investigate the impact of investments promoted by the MARENA Programme in Honduras on the total value of agricultural production (TVAP) of its beneficiaries. Propensity Score Matching techniques along with the Difference-in-Differences framework are used to mitigate biases stemming from differences in observed as well as unobserved (time-invariant) characteristics between beneficiaries and a control group. The econometric estimates suggest that MARENA has had a positive and significant effect on the TVAP of beneficiaries. In addition, the analysis shows that, under alternative scenarios, MARENA yielded higher than expected internal rates of return. The results of this study shed light on the response of small-scale hillside farmers to economic incentives and lend support to the role of natural resource management projects in Central America as a tool to increase household income while also promoting the conservation of natural resources.