The whites of Spanish descent, who make up the remaining 10 percent of the population, are the elite of Ecuadorian society. Since they form the majority of the industrialists, large agricultural estate owners, politicians, and businessmen, they usually decide what other Ecuadorians will have and what they can do. This group is typically urban-based, concentrated in the largest cities. Economy Each of Ecuador's ecological regions has a distinctive economic base and has experienced a distinctive economic history. The sierra economy continues to be directly or indirectly based on agriculture, primarily subsistence production for domestic use.
Typical crops are corn, potatoes, wheat, and barley.
On the high grassy pastures sheep and cattle are also raised to supply the urban markets with meat. The most significant problem in agriculture is that of the uneven distribution of land. Farms are either too large or too small. The only manufacturing industy in the sierra is the remnant of the so-called Panama hat industry in the city of Cuenca. It uses palms brought from the southern coast.