Dr. Adrian Vargas-Lopez

From climate worry to guest welcome: Agritourism as a diversification path for Kosovo's smallholder farmers

Journal of Rural Studies, 2026

Adrian Vargas-Lopez, Gjylisha Cena, Ann-Kathrin Koessler

Abstract: Small farms in Kosovo are facing hotter summers, longer dry seasons, and sudden storms that make yields and income less predictable. To cope, agricultural households are looking beyond basic crops and livestock and turning to agritourism, a commonly discussed adaptation option. In this paper, we pose three questions: How do farmers’ perceptions of changing weather relate to their interest in starting agritourism as a diversification strategy? What motives and conditions (economic goals, family considerations, available assets and access, etc.) shape willingness-to-start? How do farmers describe the link between diversification and perceived stress within this setting? We conducted 25 semi-structured interviews between 2023 and 2024 and analysed the transcripts with a hybrid deductive and inductive coding approach. Many participants attributed recent yield losses to changing weather, viewing agritourism as a “safer” income stream when the necessary roads, cabins, and family labour were available. The strongest motives to diversify were income security, keeping the farm in family hands, and experimenting with low-input, nature-friendly practices. Diversification reduced stress for some farmers, but new pressures emerged where infrastructure or marketing support was limited. Policy support may include small grants for basic facilities and signage, a shared booking platform, light-touch coaching on pricing and marketing, screening tools to match assets to options, and advisory support paired with simple stress-management resources.

How do the consequences on others affect dishonest behavior? Evidence from an online experiment in Mexico

Latin American Economic Review, 2025

Giuliana Triberti, Pablo Soto-Mota, Adrian Vargas-Lopez, Luis Serra-Barragán

Abstract: Dishonesty harms economic performance and growth. However, the literature on dishonesty has used almost exclusively samples from developed countries. In addition, previous studies present non-conclusive results on how concerns for others affect lying behaviour. In view of this gap in the evidence, the present study explores how the decision to be dishonest changes when it affects a charity. In an experiment involving 555 participants in Mexico, subjects could lie about the result of a dice roll without any possibility of detection. We contrast a situation without incentives to three conditions that differ in how dishonesty affected the charity. Deceitful behaviour increased when participants could benefit from it. Also, participants lied less when they received benefits at the expense of the charity, but they did not lie more when they could help it. Our results suggest that making salient how dishonesty harms others might help reduce its negative effects in society.

Farmer adaptation and maladaptation in the face of extreme weather events

Q Open, 2024

Adrian Vargas-Lopez, Ann-Kathrin Koessler

Abstract: With the advent of climate change, extreme weather events have become increasingly frequent and intense, posing significant challenges to agricultural systems worldwide. Farmers are among the most vulnerable groups, whose livelihoods depend heavily on weather-sensitive crops. In this paper, we assess whether farmers adapt or maladapt after being exposed to extreme weather events and whether their perceived well-being determines their decisions. By analysing data about the farming practices and conditions of 970 farmers in Thailand, we examine the actions farmers implement, which can be catalogued as adaptation or maladaptation actions. Although our results cannot specify an increase in adaptation or maladaptation actions after experiencing an extreme weather event, we reveal a notable rise in maladaptation with state aid for natural disasters. Similarly, we find that risk tolerance correlates with increased adaptation, while higher patience offsets this effect.

Comparison of two different approaches to measuring economic vulnerability to food insecurity: An application to Mexico using official data

Social Indicators Research, 2024

Stefano Marchetti, Luca Secondi, Adrian Vargas-Lopez

Abstract: The United Nations Social Development Goals ensure the achievement of food security by 2030. Food security is characterized by various aspects, however in this study we focus on economic vulnerability to food insecurity. In particular, we compared two measures: food insecurity levels as defined by the Integrated food security phase classification Global-Partners quantitative scale and those defined by the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security qualitative scale. The qualitative scale only measures nutritional status using specific questions, regardless of food expenditures, while the quantitative scale is based on the share of consumer expenditure spent on food (the ratio between food expenditure and total expenditure). From our analysis on 2018 Mexico data—therefore unaffected by the pandemic—59% of discrepancies were found between the two measures. The qualitative scale does not classify people who spend too much on food as being food insecure, so they are economically vulnerable about housing, healthcare and other important aspects of social life (access to food generate insecurity). The quantitative scale does not identify people who do not have access to high-quality nutrition because they must pay for other fixed expenses, for example for housing or healthcare. These two measures depict two aspects of economic vulnerability to food insecurity, and here we quantify this difference in a developing country. Future research should be at integrating these two aspects into one single indicator based on food and non-food expenditures, so to take into account both the two aspects by using only consumption expenditure data.

The use of the theory of planned behaviour as a conceptual framework to understand and promote health recommendations during the first wave of Covid-19 in Mexico City

Nova Scientia, 2023

Nuria Álvarez Agüí, Enrique Cáceres Nieto, Manuel Alejandro García Martínez, Josafat Hernández, Rosa Lidia López Bejarano, Pablo Soto-Mota, Adrian Vargas-Lopez

Abstract: In this study, we apply the Theory of Planned Behavior to understand the factors that explained adherence to health recommendations during the first wave of Covid-19 in Mexico City. To do this, we designed and implemented an online survey on prevention measures. In addition, we generate an empirical correlate of the Theory of Planned Behavior to hypothesize about correlations between variables in the survey. In addition, we included four simple experiments in the survey. We found that norms, attitudes and perception of control are correlated with the planning and adoption of preventive actions. In the experiments we observe (1) that corruption reduces the credibility of the government with respect to the health crisis, (2) doctors are more persuasive about prevention, and (3) masks generate feelings of security. We conclude that the Theory of Planned Behavior is useful to make sense of data from surveys like ours. We encourage governments in developing countries to use methods like ours to collect and interpret data, even if provisional, to respond to future health crises.

Consumer expenditure, elasticity and value of food waste: A quadratic almost ideal demand system for evaluating changes in Mexico during COVID-19

Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 2022

Adrian Vargas-Lopez, Clara Cicatiello, Ludovica Principato, Luca Secondi