Labor arrangements and financial inclusion of agricultural workers in a dynamic agricultural region in Mexico: exploring the linkages

Abstract

A Q-square approach is used to examine the linkages between labor markets and financial markets, at a micro level. We focus on contractual labor relationships of agricultural wage workers in Mexico and we try to assess whether, and to what degree, their status as agricultural workers translates into some forms of rationing with regards to their financial practices. Results reveal a lower rate of formal financial inclusion and distinctive features of financial practices for agricultural wage workers. However, the interpretation of this in terms of exclusion is not straightforward. Rather, we suggest that income patterns associated with agricultural wage status generate needs and constraints that are less suited to the characteristics of the formal supply of financial services than informal ones. Social and family networks can also act as gateways, facilitating access to formal financial services. (Résumé d'auteur