Halting Degradation of Natural Resources Is there a Role for Rural Communities?

by Baland, Jean-Marie; Platteau, Jean-Phillipe

• ISBN13: 9780198289210
• ISBN10: 0198289219
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-05-23
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This wide-ranging book, which synthesises current theoretical and empirical research, and challenges traditional assumptions, examines the Tragedy of the Commons, the mismanagement of natural resources. Focusing on local ecosystems, it asks how they can be most efficiently and equitably protected-by private, public or community management.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	xiv
List of Tables	xvi
Introduction	1	(8)
PART I: RATIONALE AND SCOPE OF LOCAL-LEVEL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: LESSONS FROM ECONOMIC THEORY
Natural Resources and Economic Growth: Towards a Definition of Sustainability	9	(16)
Production and exhaustibility	9	(3)
Justifying a conservationist strategy	12	(3)
Sustainability and reproducibility	15	(3)
Sustainability and individual rationality	18	(5)
Conclusion	23	(2)
The Tragedy of the Commons	25	(11)
A preliminary statement of the problem	25	(1)
The problem of open access	26	(3)
The problem of common property	29	(2)
Co-ordination failure under common property	31	(2)
The conjectural variations approach	33	(1)
The Lindahl equilibrium	34	(2)
The Property Rights School Solution: The Privatization Programme	36	(13)
The position of the Property Rights School	36	(1)
The efficiency of the privatization programme	37	(10)
The distributive impact of privatization	47	(2)
The Unregulated Common Property: The Prisoner's Dilemma Revisited	49	(30)
The role of private contracting: lessons from the Coase theorem	49	(7)
The role of decentralized punishment: spontaneous co-operation in repeated PD games	56	(23)
Co-ordination and Leadership in the Unregulated Common Property: Some Lessons from Game Theory	79	(37)
Unilateral contribution	79	(11)
Co-ordinated contributions	90	(5)
Heterogeneous situations with PD, AG, and CG players	95	(19)
Conclusion	114	(2)
Moral Norms and Co-operation	116	(22)
Norms as constraints on the pursuit of self-interest	116	(2)
Norms as social devices shaping preferences and expectations	118	(8)
Considerations about the emergence and erosion of moral norms	126	(12)
The Possibility of Co-operation: Lessons from Experimental Social Psychology	138	(10)
Co-operation in repeated games	138	(2)
Co-operation in games with communication	140	(4)
Co-operation in one-shot games	144	(4)
The Regulated Common Property	148	(27)
The efficiency of regulated common property	148	(12)
The distributive effects of regulating common property	160	(7)
Common property resources in the context of pervasive factor-market imperfections	167	(6)
Conclusion	173	(2)
Some Concluding Reflections on the Privatization of Common Property Resources	175	(10)
PART II: THE FEASIBILITY OF LOCAL-LEVEL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT
Introduction	183	(2)
Were People Traditionally Conservationists?	185	(50)
The romantic view: a first appraisal	185	(3)
An interpretative analysis of the available evidence	188	(44)
Conclusion	232	(3)
Recent Changes Affecting Collective Action at Village Level	235	(49)
State regulations of resource use: their nature and drawbacks	235	(27)
Other recent changes on the rural scene	262	(17)
Conclusion: A tentative appraisal of ongoing processes	279	(5)
Conditions for Successful Collective Action: Insights from Field Experiences	284	(62)
A general overview	284	(6)
The problem of economic incentives	290	(8)
The twin issues of group size and homogeneity	298	(14)
The rationale and characteristics of sanction systems	312	(12)
The role of tradition	324	(19)
Conclusion	343	(3)
Co-Management as a New Approach to Regulation of Common Property Resources	346	(35)
Enlarging the range of regulation modes	346	(2)
The broad nature of co-management arrangements or contracts	348	(3)
Co-management at work	351	(28)
Conclusion	379	(2)
General Conclusion	381	(6)
References	387	(22)
Index	409