Since oil was discovered in 1967 under present-day Lago Agrio in the indigenous Northern Ecuadorian Amazon, oil extraction has induced many changes. This research uses a large sample of household and community survey data through descriptive and multilevel regression analyses across ethnic groups and over time, constituting a novel, large-scale, comparative approach for analyzing the regional relationship between extractive industries and livelihoods. Five livelihood outcomes were analyzed, in relation to two key oil extraction predictors. Results showed that when oil companies were present at the community level, indigenous households had more off-farm employment and earned more annually from it, hunting yields increased, assets increased, marginally more land was cleared, and fishing yields decreased. In the short-term, oil companies may indeed have somewhat positive effects on indigenous communities. However, in the long-term, indigenous livelihoods may be vulnerable due to finite oil resources, contamination, cultural erosion, and regional market integration.Master of Art
