inequalities in wealth, adoption of technology, and production in a Mexican ejido 1

Abstract

In this paper, data from a Mexican ejido are presented to show that there are significant intra‐community differences in wealth and willingness to adopt new forms of behavior—two traits often reported as being homogeneous among peasants. Two empirical examples of the relationship between wealth and adoption of technology are presented and compared with previous theoretical models. While support is found for two variants of a “middle class conservatism” model, it is suggested that several different models of this relationship may emerge depending on the technology introduced and the socioeconomic constraints and incentives present. This point is illustrated with data on the economics of the two new types of technology.