Low Discounting Behavior among Small-Scale Fishers in Fiji and Sabah, Malaysia

Louise S. L. Teh, Lydia C. L. Teh and Ussif Sumaila
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Louise S. L. Teh: Fisheries Economics Research Unit, University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
Lydia C. L. Teh: Fisheries Economics Research Unit, University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada

Sustainability, 2011, vol. 3, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: Understanding the socio-economic factors that are associated with fishers’ willingness to delay gratification may be useful for designing appropriate fisheries management and conservation policies. We aim to identify the predictors of low discounting behaviour among fishers, which is analogous to having a longer-term outlook. We base our empirical study on two small-scale tropical reef fisheries in Sabah, Malaysia, and Fiji. We use an experimental approach to identify fishers with low discount rates, and then use a logistic regression model to identify predictors of low discount rates. We find that 42% of the respondents have low discount rates, and that site and village level variables are significant predictors of low discount rates. Within Sabah and Fiji, boat ownership and relative catch differentiate low discounting from non-low discounting fishers, but these variables have contradictory effects in Sabah and Fiji. Overall, our results imply that a substantial proportion of reef fishers may be willing to engage in conservation initiatives; however, local socio-cultural, economic, and ecological conditions have to be considered first during the process of designing management interventions.

Keywords: private discount rates; small-scale fisheries; socio-economics; Sabah; Fiji (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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