Date of Award
2022
Document Type
Honors Thesis (Open Access)
Department
Colby College. Economics Dept.
Advisor(s)
Daniel LaFave
Second Advisor
Benjamin Scharadin
Abstract
Utilizing global coffee commodity prices as an exogenous variable on households' consumption, I examine how global coffee commodity price fluctuations affect the well-being of households in the third-largest coffee-producing nation, Colombia. The results show that rural regions and regions designated as part of the "Coffee Axis" are most affected by fluctuations in prices. While results on other regional distinctions are not significant, the size of a household's farming operation dictates how increases in consumption are affected. Lastly, I show that changes in coffee prices, do not have any effect on whether a small or large farm will switch to growing the bean, in the short term. Overall, this paper aims to understand how Colombians are exposed to price shifts from one of the world's beloved beverages.
Keywords
coffee prices, Colombia, social well-being, household expenditure, Arabica coffee
Recommended Citation
Ozols, Alexander, "Bean to Buck: Examining the Effects of the Global Coffee Commodity Market on Smallholders in Colombia" (2022). Honors Theses. Paper 1375.https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/honorstheses/1375
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