Agribusiness, distribution and welfare. Balcarce, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina (2019)

Abstract

This paper describes and analyzes the relationship between the agribusiness model and the welfare of the population in Balcarce, an agricultural territory in southeastern Buenos Aires, Argentina. The characteristics of the agribusiness model (farm size, labor force employed and wealth generated) are described and linked to poverty, labor, subjective well-being and education indices. As general conclusions, it was observed that the sector spills little and does not stimulate positive indices of psychological well-being. In spite of the fact that the agricultural sector generates enough wealth to allow all the inhabitants of the district to live above the poverty line, a little more than 55% of the population is poor or indigent. The agricultural sector demands 13.5% of the EAP, and subjective wellbeing is lower among those directly linked to the agricultural sector.