Abstract for: Exogenous vs. Endogenous: The Challenge of Coffee Price Dynamics

The aim of this paper is to present a systemic model for designing strategies that may improve the economic well-being of coffee growers in a Colombian region. We focus on exploring the possibilities that the very decisions of those coffee growers may have on the dynamics of the whole coffee-production system since their income seems to be dominated by volatile exogenous dynamics that determine the price of coffee. That is, our aim means to ask if the endogenous dynamics created by the decisions of coffee growers may overcome the exogenous force of price. We present the model building process along with preliminary conceptualizations and simulations. We expect to finish our analyses and discussion by the time of the conference next July. This paper is a follow-up of a previous preliminary work presented at a previous ISDC Conference.