MIT Political Science

Biography

Gustavo Setrini holds a Ph.D. from the Political Science Department at MIT, where he currently serves as a research associate and director for the Puerto Rico Economy Project. His primary research interests are the political economy of sustainable agriculture and the political consequences of agricultural growth in the era of globalization.

Gustavo's dissertation, "Global Niche Markets and Local Development: Clientelism and Fairtrade Farmer Organizations in Paraguay's Sugar Industry," examines the process of democratization within small farmer cooperatives that have received organic and Fairtrade certification. In addition, his research has examined the effectiveness of donor-funded, NGO-led development projects to promote sustainable agricultural techniques among poor farmers and to alleviate poverty by integrating small farmers into global supply chains.

As part of the Puerto Rico Economy Project, Gustavo is conducting a study of Island's food and agriculture system, which seeks to identify the constraints and opportunities for linking agricultural development to natural resource conservation, job creation, and income growth. In particular, his research examines the regulatory and educational institutions that developed on the Island to govern 'mass- market' agriculture during the twentieth century. Through a set of case studies, Setrini will propose how these institutions may be updated to support the entrepreneurial activities of two sets of actors: agribusiness firms (focused on high-value export niches) and sustainable agriculture movements (focused on local markets and food security).

Papers

Dissertation Chapter 1. Global Niche Markets and local Development: Clientelism and Fairtrade Farmer Organizations in Paraguay’s Sugar Industry (pdf)

Dissertation Chapter 7. Pluralistic Clientelism and Autonomous Upgrading in Cooperativa Manduvirá (pdf)

“Trade and Poverty in Paraguay: the Case of an Agro-Industrial Value Chain” with F. Masi, C. González, L. Arce, and M. Servín, in Comercio, Pobreza y Políticas Públicas and América Latina, ed. José Duran Lima, M. Lafleur, A. Pellandra. UN-CEPAL: Santiago. December 2010. (pdf)

“Veinte Años de Democracia Electoral en Paraguay: del Clientelismo Monopólico al Clientelismo Plural” in Estado y Economía en Paraguay (1870-2010). Ed. Fernando Masi and Dionisio Borda. Centro de Análisis y Difusión de Economía Paraguaya (CADEP): Asunción, Paraguay. November 2011. (pdf)

“Cultivating New Development Paths: Food and Agriculture Entrepreneurship in Puerto Rico.” Puerto Rico Economy Project Working Paper.
MIT Political Science Department. September 2012. (pdf)