Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of Rural, Low-Income Oportunidades Communities (1997/1998) and Control Communities (2003), Mexico
| Characteristic | Oportunidades (n = 264) | Control (n = 59) | P Valuea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Some indigenous population in the community, % | 33.48 | 28.86 | .65 |
| At least some part of the village supplied with electricity, % | 74.12 | 68.86 | .78 |
| At least one private or public telephone in 2003, % | 81.38 | 72.53 | .10 |
| At least one preschool before 1998, % | 88.90 | 80.10 | .07 |
| At least one primary school before 1998, % | 90.36 | 92.49 | .66 |
| At least one health center before 1998, % | 33.81 | 37.72 | .91 |
| Had local shop in 2003, % | 24.76 | 24.83 | .83 |
| Had home-based shop in 2003, % | 60.50 | 61.97 | .95 |
| Community received desayuno school food program in 2003, % | 72.46 | 77.54 | .35 |
| Community received despensas, food stamp assistance in 2003, % | 41.64 | 59.42 | .02 |
| Mean distance to distance learning center, km (SD) | 2.8 (3.6) | 3.0 (3.0) | .65 |
| Distance learning center in community, % | 24.00 | 17.73 | .19 |
| Mean seasonal rent, pesos (SD) | 96.52 (218.93) | 94.26 (208.77) | .94 |
| Mean cost to rent irrigation equipment, pesos (SD) | 51.17 (253.04) | 48.61 (220.71) | .94 |
| Mean wage, pesos (SD)b | |||
| Male agricultural worker | 880.31 (595.78) | 1099.25 (888.17) | .07 |
| Female agricultural worker | 345.15 (418.55) | 561.30 (521.87) | .003 |
| Child agricultural worker | 203.04 (302.80) | 232.65 (340.18) | .53 |
| Male nonagricultural worker | 393.47 (1188.64) | 710.66 (1620.87) | .15 |
| Female nonagricultural worker | 161.52 (1055.52) | 204.67 (461.82) | .63 |
| Male employed worker | 312.81 (1581.80) | 201.02 (472.16) | .33 |
| Female employed worker | 175.93 (1047.41) | 379.74 (1839.89) | .41 |
a
Differences between groups assessed by using tests of means or tests of proportions, adjusted for clustering at the community level.
b
All wages are monthly and from 2003, deflated to 1997 levels. US$1 = approximately 10 Mexican pesos. "Nonagricultural workers" are informally employed and paid, whereas "employed workers" are formally employed and salary-based.