This paper uses cross-sectional data from Mexico before and after the 1994 peso crisis to analyze rural household vulnerability to macroeconomic shocks. The study suggests that agricultural households are less vulnerable than non-agricultural households. The impacts vary depending on type of production and specialization level. Among agricultural households, those with a higher proportion of corn and bean production for self-consumption fared better than households which engaged in stronger market participation. Although the decline in their monetary income and consumption was more or less similar to that of the more market-oriented agricultural households, they were better able to shield their total income and consumption as well as their food expenditures.

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