Moving beyond a snapshot to understand changes in the well-being of native Amazonians : panel evidence (2002-2006) from Bolivia.

摘要

Forces such as the opening of trade, globalization, multinational corporate resource extraction, urbanization, acculturation, and colonization catalyze economic, ecological, and sociocultural change, which can threaten the well‐being and habitat of native Amazonians. Understanding these forces is of paramount importance to improve the well‐being of native Amazonians and to foster the conservation of biological diversity, yet most analyses of these forces rely on cross‐sectional data. Though adequate to describe the association between variables at one point in time, cross‐sectional data do not allow one to estimate changes in well‐being over time. We collected data annually during five consecutive years (2002–2006, inclusive) from a foraging and farming society of native Amazonians in Bolivia (Tsimane’) to estimate annual rates of change for seven indicators of adult well‐being. Indicators encompassed both objective and subjective measures of well‐being that included economic, health, psychological, and social dimensions that overlap well with Tsimane’ notions of well‐being. The annual rate of change in the inflation‐adjusted (hereafter real) value of food consumption (+6.35%), body mass index (+0.71%), and incidence of anger (−10.40%) show significant improvements over time, but the annual rate of change in the self‐reported number of recent ailments (+7.35%) shows a significant deterioration. Trends in other indicators of well‐being (smiles, real wealth, social relations) show positive but insignificant rates of change. Results did not vary by sex and were consistent when using other indicators of well‐being