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What Motivates Common Pool Resource Users? Experimental Evidence from the Field

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Author Info
Maria Alejandra Vélez () (The Earth Institute, Columbia University)
John K. Stranlund () (Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst)
James J. Murphy () (Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst)

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Abstract

This paper develops and tests several models of pure Nash strategies of individuals who extract from a common pool resource when they are motivated by a combination of self-interest and other motivations such as altruism, reciprocity, inequity aversion and conformism. We test whether an econometric summary of subjects’ strategies is consistent with one of these motivations using data from a series of common pool resource experiments conducted in three regions of Colombia. As expected, average extraction levels are less than that predicted by a model of pure self-interest, but are nevertheless sub-optimal. Moreover, we find that a model of conformism with monotonically increasing best response functions best describes average strategies. Our empirical results are inconsistent with models of altruism, reciprocity and inequity aversion.

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Paper provided by University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Resource Economics in its series Working Papers with number 2005-4.

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Length: 32 pages
Date of creation: Mar 2005
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Handle: RePEc:dre:wpaper:2005-4

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Related research
Keywords: common pool resources experiments altruism reciprocity conformism

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism
H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
Q20 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - General
C70 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - General

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  6. Cardenas, Juan-Camilo & Ostrom, Elinor, 2004. "What do people bring into the game? Experiments in the field about cooperation in the commons," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 82(3), pages 307-326, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Bruno S. Frey & Stephan Meier, 2004. "Social Comparisons and Pro-social Behavior: Testing "Conditional Cooperation" in a Field Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(5), pages 1717-1722, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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