IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/apecpp/v39y2017i3p499-515..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Managing the Commons: How Extension Facilitates Local Participation to Manage Natural Resources

Author

Listed:
  • Bidisha Mandal
  • Timothy Lawrence

Abstract

Extension promotes volunteerism and facilitates community involvement in the informed decision-making process required for managing natural resources; Extension also enhances local social capital. This important role does not receive as much attention in the literature on Extension and its scope as does its traditional role of information provision. We conducted a study to examine the need and demand for Extension programs in a rural community comprised entirely of islands and tangibly dependent on natural resources. We found that affiliation with Extension has a strong impact on the willingness to pay for Extension programs. Thus, we provide evidence that supports the argument that Extension is an important service and an appropriate use of public funds for economic development. This finding is in line with Elinor Ostrom’s theory in new institutional economics that well-designed, robust local entities that stimulate local participation can assist in managing natural resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Bidisha Mandal & Timothy Lawrence, 2017. "Managing the Commons: How Extension Facilitates Local Participation to Manage Natural Resources," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 39(3), pages 499-515.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:apecpp:v:39:y:2017:i:3:p:499-515.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/aepp/ppw031
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carpenter, Jeffrey & Myers, Caitlin Knowles, 2010. "Why volunteer? Evidence on the role of altruism, image, and incentives," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(11-12), pages 911-920, December.
    2. Brian Roe & Timothy C. Haab & Brent Sohngen, 2004. "The Value of Agricultural Economics Extension Programming: An Application of Contingent Valuation," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 26(3), pages 373-390.
    3. McConnell, K. E., 1990. "Models for referendum data: The structure of discrete choice models for contingent valuation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 19-34, January.
    4. McDowell, George R., 1988. "Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture: Renegotiating or Abandoning a Social Contract," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 3(2), pages 1-4.
    5. Freeman, Richard B, 1997. "Working for Nothing: The Supply of Volunteer Labor," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 140-166, January.
    6. Linardi, Sera & McConnell, Margaret A., 2011. "No excuses for good behavior: Volunteering and the social environment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(5), pages 445-454.
    7. Elinor Ostrom, 2010. "Beyond Markets and States: Polycentric Governance of Complex Economic Systems," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(3), pages 641-672, June.
    8. Wang, Sun Ling, 2014. "Cooperative Extension System: Trends and Economic Impacts on U.S. Agriculture," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 29(1), pages 1-8.
    9. Whitehead, John C., 2005. "Combining willingness to pay and behavior data with limited information," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 143-155, June.
    10. Kalambokidis, Laura, 2003. "Identifying The Public Value In Extension Programs," Staff Papers 13409, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    11. Green, Gary Paul, 2001. "Amenities and Community Economic Development: Strategies for Sustainability," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 31(2), pages 1-15.
    12. Peter Earl & Jason Potts, 2011. "A Nobel Prize for Governance and Institutions: Oliver Williamson and Elinor Ostrom," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 1-24.
    13. Lilley, Andrew & Slonim, Robert, 2014. "The price of warm glow," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 58-74.
    14. Clifford, William B. & Hoban, Thomas J. & Whitehead, John C., 2001. "Willingness To Pay For Agricultural Research And Extension Programs," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 33(1), pages 1-11, April.
    15. Elizabeth G. Katz, 2000. "Social Capital and Natural Capital: A Comparative Analysis of Land Tenure and Natural Resource Management in Guatemala," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 76(1), pages 114-132.
    16. Agrawal, Arun, 2001. "Common Property Institutions and Sustainable Governance of Resources," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(10), pages 1649-1672, October.
    17. McGranahan, David A., 1999. "Natural Amenities Drive Rural Population Change," Agricultural Economic Reports 33955, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    18. Elinor Ostrom, 2000. "Collective Action and the Evolution of Social Norms," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 137-158, Summer.
    19. Joshua Muldavin, 2000. "The Paradoxes of Environmental Policy and Resource Management in Reform-Era China," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 76(3), pages 244-271, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Simona Cicognani & Sebastian Stein & Mirco Tonin & Michael Vlassopoulos, 2023. "Symbolic incentives and the recruitment of volunteers for citizen science projects," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 75(4), pages 923-940.
    2. Torgler, Benno & Garcia-Valinas, Maria A. & Macintyre, Alison, 2008. "Environmental Participation and Environmental Motivation," Climate Change Modelling and Policy Working Papers 46652, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    3. Alexander L. Brown & Jonathan Meer & J. Forrest Williams, 2019. "Why Do People Volunteer? An Experimental Analysis of Preferences for Time Donations," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(4), pages 1455-1468, April.
    4. Bluffstone, Randy & Robinson, Elizabeth & Guthiga, Paul, 2013. "REDD+and community-controlled forests in low-income countries: Any hope for a linkage?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 43-52.
    5. Cavalcanti, Carina & Leibbrandt, Andreas, 2015. "Dry promotions and community participation: Evidence from a natural field experiment in Brazilian fishing villages," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 457-465.
    6. Benno Torgler & María A. García Valiñas & Alison Macintyre, 2008. "Environmental Participation and Environmental Motivation," Working Papers 2008.95, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    7. Gary D. Libecap, 2014. "Addressing Global Environmental Externalities: Transaction Costs Considerations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 52(2), pages 424-479, June.
    8. Brenna Ellison & Nicholas D Paulson & Mykel R Taylor & Glynn T Tonsor & Jonathan Coppess & Gary D Schnitkey, 2017. "Evaluation of Educational Offerings Associated with the 2014 Farm Bill," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 39(4), pages 547-558.
    9. William J. Luther, 2021. "Behavioral and Policy Responses to COVID-19: Evidence from Google Mobility Data on State- Level Stay-at-Home Orders," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 36(Fall 2021), pages 67-89.
    10. Charness, Gary & Cobo-Reyes, Ramón & Sánchez, Ángela, 2016. "The effect of charitable giving on workers’ performance: Experimental evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 131(PA), pages 61-74.
    11. Brett M. Frischmann & Alain Marciano & Giovanni Battista Ramello, 2019. "Retrospectives: Tragedy of the Commons after 50 Years," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 211-228, Fall.
    12. Hongyu Guan & Xianchen Zhu & Ping Zhang, 2016. "Rule-Inequality-Aversion Preference and Conditional Cooperation in Public Goods Experiments: Economic Experiment Evidence from China," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 799-825, July.
    13. Juergen Woeckl & Tanin Chaiyesh, 2014. "A Structural Equation Model for Spiritual Service Volunteer Labor Supply at Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University," Applied Economics Journal, Kasetsart University, Faculty of Economics, Center for Applied Economic Research, vol. 21(1), pages 79-101, June.
    14. Paul Swagemakers & Maria Dolores Dominguez Garcia & Johannes S. C. Wiskerke, 2018. "Socially-Inclusive Development and Value Creation: How a Composting Project in Galicia (Spain) ‘Hit the Rocks’," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-21, June.
    15. Benabou, Roland & Jaroszewicz, Ania & Loewenstein, George, 2022. "It Hurts to Ask," IZA Discussion Papers 15576, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Dissart, Jean-Christophe, 2007. "Landscapes and regional development: What are the links?," Cahiers d'Economie et de Sociologie Rurales (CESR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 84.
    17. Stephen V. Burks & Daniele Nosenzo & Jon Anderson & Matthew Bombyk & Derek Ganzhorn & Lorenz Goette & Aldo Rustichini, 2015. "Lab Measures of Other-Regarding Preferences Can Predict Some Related on-the-Job Behavior: Evidence from a Large Scale Field Experiment," Discussion Papers 2015-21, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    18. Lemeilleur, Sylvaine & Allaire, Gilles, 2019. "Participatory Guarantee Systems for organic farming: reclaiming the commons," Working Papers MOISA 292325, Institut National de la recherché Agronomique (INRA), UMR MOISA : Marchés, Organisations, Institutions et Stratégies d'Acteurs : CIHEAM-IAMM, CIRAD, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier, France.
    19. Bluffstone, Randy & Dannenberg, Astrid & Martinsson, Peter & Jha, Prakash & Bista, Rajesh, 2020. "Cooperative behavior and common pool resources: Experimental evidence from community forest user groups in Nepal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    20. Michael Fortunato & Theodore Alter, 2011. "Against the Grain: What Motivates Entrepreneurs to Locate in Pennsylvania's Non-Metropolitan Cities and Boroughs," ERSA conference papers ersa10p1505, European Regional Science Association.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Extension; willingness to pay; public support; volunteers; natural resources;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:apecpp:v:39:y:2017:i:3:p:499-515.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaeaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.