Introducción: La planeación y manejo de las actividades en el Parque Nacional Los Mármoles debe incluir las opiniones de los usuarios y visitantes con la finalidad de generar alternativas económicas sustentables acordes con los objetivos de conservación. Objetivo: Estimar el valor económico por la implementación de un plan de mejoras (vías de acceso, sanidad forestal, protección a la biodiversidad y espacios para la recreación) para el manejo del Parque Nacional Los Mármoles. Materiales y métodos: El valor económico por la implementación de un plan de mejoras se estimó mediante experimentos de elección, a través del modelo logit condicional. Para ello se entrevistó a los actores clave, se hicieron talleres de diagnóstico participativo y se aplicó una encuesta a 144 turistas, quienes manifestaron el orden de las preferencias de los atributos del plan de mejora. Resultados y discusión: Los entrevistados asignaron mayor disponibilidad a pagar al atributo sanidad forestal (16.51 MXN) que a las vías de acceso y sitios de estacionamiento (13.74 MXN) y protección a la biodiversidad (9.28 MXN). El atributo sobre mejoras a los espacios para la recreación no resultó estadísticamente significativo, lo cual refleja una mayor valoración por mantener las condiciones poco alteradas del sitio. Conclusiones: Los experimentos de elección en la gestión de políticas para el manejo de las áreas naturales protegidas permitieron identificar las áreas de oportunidad y valorarlas económicamente, a través de la opinión de los actores involucrados en las actividades del Parque Nacional Los Mármoles.

Disruptive events such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have the potential to reshape even the most basic human systems and behaviors, including those related to food production, acquisition, and consumption. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of how the pandemic has changed the ratio of food-away-from-home (FAFH) expenditure to income in Mexico, as well as participation in this market. In 2020, household participation in FAFH expenditures declined in all income deciles and regions, but the impact on household shares is far from uniform. Using a detailed national database of household income and expenditures (N = 87,274), an Engel curve of the Working-Lesser functional form for FAFH including 19 independent variables was estimated using the Heckman method appropriate for censored response data. The results provide statistically significant estimates for income, which both increases the probability of participation in this expenditure and has a negative relationship with its budget share. The number of older adults and the exposure to food insecurity during the pandemic similarly limit participation and increase the budget share. In addition, remittances encourage participation and decrease the budget share. The corrected conditional income elasticity for FAFH is 0.4609; the sign and magnitude indicate that FAFH behaved as a necessary good in Mexico for the proportion of households that maintained spending during the lockdown conditions (about one-third of the sample). An increase or decrease in income will lead to a corresponding change in FAFH expenditure, but the change will be less than proportional.

The propagation of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) reshaped the relationship between income and food-away-from-home (FAFH) expenditure in Mexico during 2020. Although the number of households participating in this market fell across income deciles and regions due to the pandemic, the impact on their budget shares is not uniform. Using data from the Encuesta Nacional de Ingresos y Gastos de los Hogares (ENIGH) 2020, we estimated an Engel curve of the Working-Lesser functional form for FAFH. Among the independent variables are the number of family members 65 years of age and older, and dummies to indicate whether the household experienced food insecurity or received remittances. The estimation was carried out following the Heckman two-step method, suitable for censored-response data. The results suggest that the budget share for FAFH drops as income increases. The number of older adults and food insecurity discourage the decision to participate in FAFH expenditure and increase its budget share, whereas remittances encourage participation and reduce its budget share. The corrected conditional elasticity is 0.4609; the sign and the magnitude indicate that FAFH is a necessity good.

Dry bean is the leading source of low-cost plant-based proteins in Mexico. However, in the years following the liberalization of the economy, Mexico experienced the erosion of a self-sufficiency index for this commodity. Impending changes in the international markets for proteins compel us to reevaluate the role of dry bean for Mexico’s food security. In the present paper we set out to analyze the last link of the marketing chain in Mexico’s dry bean market: the consumer. Using data on household expenditure for 2018, the relationship between income and expenditure on dry bean as well as on processed bean is ascertained by means of the Working-Leser Engel Curve equations system. Due to the presence of zero-expenditure households in the sample, we followed the two-step Heckit procedure for the possible selection bias. The results suggest that the budget share for dry bean and for processed bean drops as income increases. The corrected conditional elasticity for dry bean is −0.1056. For processed bean, the elasticity is −0.2286. The negative sign indicates that both commodities are inferior goods.