Rural development

This thesis explores the gentrification of a rural village along the Ecuadorian coast by exploring its connection with the tourism industry. Through the use of several ethnographic methods, the data collected demonstrates gentrification outside of the context of urban areas by focusing on a rural area of the Global South. The rural gentrification of this village results in drastic increases in land value and the subordination of local people within the labor hierarchy, relegating them to positions of service. As the dominant economy, tourism leaves locals with few avenues for economic mobility. In doing so, tourism forces its own reproduction as locals engage in the industry through the creation of their own touristic businesses. Finally, this thesis exhibits how local communities control the type of tourism and tourists they host. Community-tourism discourse provides us with the tools necessary to illustrate local hosts as dynamic actors who sustain the tourism industry.

International development literature suggests that Internet marketing has the potential to play an important role in rural development. Despite the abundant theoretical support for incorporating Internet marketing into development strategies, there is little empirical evidence regarding whether Internet marketing actually generates development. This thesis helps fill this gap in the literature by investigating whether one Internet marketing application associated with development, competitive-online auctions (COAs), contributes to growth and poverty reduction. An analysis of price premiums earned in Latin American specialty coffee auctions and interviews with participating coffee farmers suggest that this application's strength lies in its ability to catalyze development; it provides the foundation from which farmers can pursue above-market prices, access new markets, and improve local living conditions. However, evidence also emphasizes that COAs do not inevitably advance development goals because their ability to do so is contingent on external factors, including the actions taken by individual farmers.