Does engagement improve groundwater management?

Felipe de Figuereido Silva, Lilyan Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin and Marck Burbach

No 311051, Staff Papers from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Agricultural Economics

Abstract: Groundwater use often has external effects on both the environment and future groundwater benefits, leading to over withdrawal. Ostrom’s research on common property resources (CPR) and related literature indicates that CPR management may improve if users have more information about the groundwater system, more opportunities for communication, and empowerment to regulate. In this paper, we conduct a computer laboratory experiment involving 180 students to evaluate the role of these components of engagement in reducing irrigation withdrawals from an aquifer. Our treatments, which consisted of different levels of information, communication and empowerment, resulted in decreases in groundwater extraction and increases in irrigation profits over nine-year extraction horizons. Enhanced information and communication also increased the fraction of subjects who voted for and complied with collective action in the form of quotas on pumping levels.

Keywords: Institutional and Behavioral Economics; Resource/Energy Economics and Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 44
Date: 2021-04-23
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env and nep-exp
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:nbaesp:311051

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.311051

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