Doctoral Candidate, Department of Political Science
Gustavo Setrini is a doctoral candidate in the MIT Political Science Department, specializing in political economy of development and comparative politics, with particular interests in rural politics, agricultural development, and
globalization. His dissertation, ?Clientelism in an Age of Globalization:
From Patron-Client to Supplier-Client Relations in the Paraguayan Sugar
Industry,? explores how the formation of export value-chains and Fairtrade
certification in Paraguay?s sugar industry affects the internal politics of
smallholder organizations and their capacity to generate the collective goods
necessary for local economic development. His research draws on two years of
fieldwork, including extensive interviewing and participant observation.
His primary research interests are the political economy of sustainable
agriculture and the political consequences of agricultural growth in the era of
globalization. His other research examines the origins of the Brazilian soy
industry and the effectiveness of donor-funded, NGO-led development projects to
promote sustainable agricultural techniques among poor farmers and integrate
small farmers into global supply chains. He also conducted fieldwork on labor
conditions in global supply chains in the Honduran apparel industry.
Gustavo completed fieldwork in Paraguay from 2007-2009 with the support of a
Fulbright scholarship, funding from the MIT Center for International Studies
and the MIT Project on Human Rights and Social Justice, and institutional
support from the Centro de Análisis y Difusión de Economía Paraguaya
(CADEP), in Asunción Paraguay. Gustavo began his doctoral training after
graduating from Lawrence University in 2003 with a major government and a minor
in music.