Labor Market Structure, New Export Crops, and Inequality: The Case of Mariculture in Honduras

It is suggested that to assess the development potential of new export products it is first necessary to understand how rural labor markets operate. Despite projected increases in labor demands, whether the labor market clears or not in equilibrium remains a primary concern. Various strands of the literature are drawn on which suggest that in a setting of conflictive land-use changes and a second-best economic environment, a nonclearing, segmented labor market may be expected because of efficiency wage, worker recruitment, or social control concerns.