Doctoral Dissertation Research: Effects of Increased Market Participation on Adaptive Capacity and Resilience in Rural Samoa

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University of Georgia doctoral candidate J. Brent Vickers, supervised by Dr. Donald R. Nelson, will undertake research to investigate the effects of market integration on the ability of farmers in the village of Falealupo, Samoa, to recover from droughts, which have significant consequences for subsistence-based livelihoods. Historically, the capacity to respond to droughts and other environmental events depended on social institutions related to common property management. Over the last fifty years, however, people in rural villages throughout Samoa have increased their participation in the global market and decreased their participation in traditional social institutions. The changing context presents an opportunity to understand the effects of economic development and increased market participation on households and their members when recovering from, and adapting to, environmental events.Using a variety of quantitative and qualitative ethnographic methods, such as semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, questionnaires, and household surveys to produce empirical data and to test hypotheses. The research methods will also be used to document experiences of Samoan villagers recovering from recent droughts and adapting to ecological change. The research will also address the intellectually challenging problem of assessing resilience from an emic (insider) rather than an etic (outside expert) perspective.The research will contribute to the theoretical understanding of the effects of increased market participation on adaptive capacity and perceptions of resilience. The research will also contribute to resilience research methodology by using emic, rather than etic, measurements to define and measure social-ecological resilience, which could inform relief efforts and planning measures in communities facing similar droughts and other environmental events around the globe. Funding this research also contributes to the training of a social scientist.