{"id":180,"date":"2026-05-04T10:28:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/?p=180"},"modified":"2026-05-04T10:28:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:28:03","slug":"a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","title":{"rendered":"A Migration Success Story: Mennonites and Economic Growth in Belize\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In a world\u00a0dominated by heated immigration debates, we recently witnessed a success story in Central America that demonstrates how a thoughtful migration policy\u00a0can help both migrants and host nations.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bohanon and Horowitz recently\u00a0visited\u00a0Belize, where\u00a0we\u00a0explored and developed relationships between Ball State and the Central Bank of Belize\u00a0and other economic agencies in the country. It was a very productive trip that will benefit all parties and enhance\u00a0research and\u00a0learning opportunities for our\u00a0Ball State\u00a0students.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Belize, formerly British Honduras, is a small country in Central America that\u00a0gained independence in 1981. Its population is currently estimated to be 440,000,\u00a0and it\u00a0is 8,867 square miles. That\u2019s about half the population of Marion County in an area\u00a0twenty times its size.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Our hosts took us\u00a0to\u00a0Spanish Lookout, Belize. We were back home again in Indiana: farmland\u00a0with rows of corn punctuated by grain silos.\u00a0In the late 1950s,\u00a0a group of Mennonite\u00a0farmers in\u00a0Mexico\u00a0were concerned that the\u00a0Mexican\u00a0government would no longer guarantee their religious liberty\u00a0and cultural independence. As pacifists, their exemption from military service in Mexico was under threat.\u00a0Meanwhile the\u00a0colonial government\u00a0in British Honduras\u00a0were looking\u00a0to enhance the country\u2019s\u00a0agriculture\u00a0production capacity\u00a0before the colony was granted independence.\u00a0Mennonites were seeking a new home, and\u00a0as productive\u00a0farmers\u00a0were well-suited to meet the British\u00a0goal.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The\u00a0Mennonites moved in and\u00a0had a\u00a0hard\u00a0time\u00a0at first.\u00a0But they\u00a0harvested and\u00a0sold timber and transformed the jungle into fertile farmland. Today they\u00a0are\u00a0thriving. They\u00a0produce\u00a0most of the poultry and\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/belize.com\/the-mennonites-of-belize-a-brief-history\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">dairy products consumed<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0in\u00a0Belize. They export\u00a0large quantities of corn and beans to other Caribbean nations.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The arrangement showcases what Nobel Prize winner Elinor Ostrom\u00a0called\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.pdx.edu\/~nwallace\/EHP\/OstromPolyGov.pdf\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">polycentrism<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">:<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0a\u00a0system of\u00a0governance\u00a0where\u00a0multiple\u00a0administrative levels\u00a0provide\u00a0various\u00a0public services tailored to local needs and conditions.\u00a0Under the constitutional arrangement\u00a0with the national government,\u00a0the Mennonites maintain their own roads and run their own schools through an internal system of taxation. They pay taxes to the Belizean government. The\u00a0constitutional arrangement\u00a0protects their religious liberty, including exemption from military service.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The story of the Mennonites in Belize is a story of how Belize developed a productive agricultural sector and the Mennonites found sanctuary to practice their faith and way of life. The relationship, built on mutual respect and clear expectations, created prosperity that neither party could have achieved independently.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a world\u00a0dominated by heated immigration debates, we recently witnessed a success story in Central America that demonstrates how a thoughtful migration policy\u00a0can help both migrants and host nations.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bohanon and Horowitz recently\u00a0visited\u00a0Belize, where\u00a0we\u00a0explored and developed relationships between Ball State and the Central Bank of Belize\u00a0and other economic agencies in the country. It was a very [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[795],"tags":[771,1634,757,353,1239,1487,1638,1635,1637,1636],"class_list":["post-180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-immigration","tag-agriculture","tag-belize","tag-economic-development","tag-elinor-ostrom","tag-governance","tag-immigration-policy","tag-institutional-economics","tag-mennonites","tag-migration-success","tag-polycentrism"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Migration Success Story: Mennonites and Economic Growth in Belize\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Migration Success Story: Mennonites and Economic Growth in Belize\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a world\u00a0dominated by heated immigration debates, we recently witnessed a success story in Central America that demonstrates how a thoughtful migration policy\u00a0can help both migrants and host nations.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bohanon and Horowitz recently\u00a0visited\u00a0Belize, where\u00a0we\u00a0explored and developed relationships between Ball State and the Central Bank of Belize\u00a0and other economic agencies in the country. It was a very [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Econ Briefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-04T14:28:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"christianhartselle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"christianhartselle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"christianhartselle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/891ce289309477b615eaec7b6a825c1b\"},\"headline\":\"A Migration Success Story: Mennonites and Economic Growth in Belize\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-04T14:28:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":419,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"agriculture\",\"Belize\",\"economic development\",\"Elinor Ostrom\",\"governance\",\"immigration policy\",\"institutional economics\",\"Mennonites\",\"migration success\",\"polycentrism\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Immigration\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\",\"name\":\"A Migration Success Story: Mennonites and Economic Growth in Belize\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-04T14:28:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/891ce289309477b615eaec7b6a825c1b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/04\\\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Migration Success Story: Mennonites and Economic Growth in Belize\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/\",\"name\":\"Econ Briefs\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/891ce289309477b615eaec7b6a825c1b\",\"name\":\"christianhartselle\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"christianhartselle\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/people.bsu.edu\\\/econbriefs\\\/author\\\/christianhartselle\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Migration Success Story: Mennonites and Economic Growth in Belize\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Migration Success Story: Mennonites and Economic Growth in Belize\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs","og_description":"In a world\u00a0dominated by heated immigration debates, we recently witnessed a success story in Central America that demonstrates how a thoughtful migration policy\u00a0can help both migrants and host nations.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bohanon and Horowitz recently\u00a0visited\u00a0Belize, where\u00a0we\u00a0explored and developed relationships between Ball State and the Central Bank of Belize\u00a0and other economic agencies in the country. It was a very [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","og_site_name":"Econ Briefs","article_published_time":"2026-05-04T14:28:03+00:00","author":"christianhartselle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"christianhartselle","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/"},"author":{"name":"christianhartselle","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#\/schema\/person\/891ce289309477b615eaec7b6a825c1b"},"headline":"A Migration Success Story: Mennonites and Economic Growth in Belize\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz","datePublished":"2026-05-04T14:28:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/"},"wordCount":419,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["agriculture","Belize","economic development","Elinor Ostrom","governance","immigration policy","institutional economics","Mennonites","migration success","polycentrism"],"articleSection":["Immigration"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","name":"A Migration Success Story: Mennonites and Economic Growth in Belize\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-05-04T14:28:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#\/schema\/person\/891ce289309477b615eaec7b6a825c1b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2026\/05\/04\/a-migration-success-story-mennonites-and-economic-growth-in-belize-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Migration Success Story: Mennonites and Economic Growth in Belize\u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#website","url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/","name":"Econ Briefs","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/#\/schema\/person\/891ce289309477b615eaec7b6a825c1b","name":"christianhartselle","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99dffdd2c9bd490eefa22ed0b6d8d8a277b0368e88948df516427d91d6bf8ea5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"christianhartselle"},"url":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/author\/christianhartselle\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}