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In pursuit of comparable concepts and data about collective action

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  • Poteete, Amy
  • Ostrom, Elinor

Abstract

Research on collective action confronts two major obstacles. First, inconsistency in the conceptualization and operationalization of collective action, the key factors expected to affect collective action, and the outcomes of collective action hampers the accumulation of knowledge. Inconsistent terminology obscures consistent patterns. Second, the scarcity of comparable data thwarts evaluation of the relative importance of the many variables identified in the literature as likely to influence collective action. The International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) research program addresses both of these problems. Since its founding in 1993, the IFRI network of collaborating research centers has used a common set of methods and concepts to study forests, the people who use forest resources, and their institutions for resource management. The basic social unit of analysis in IFRI is the user group, defined as a set of individuals with the same rights and responsibilities to forest resources. This definition does not require formal organization or collective action, since these features are potential dependent variables. This strategy for data collection allows analysis of relationships between diverse forms of social heterogeneity and collective action within groups with comparable rights to resources. IFRI's relational database also captures the connections among forest systems, sets of resource users, particular forest products, formal and informal rules for resource use, and formal local and supra-local organizations. By the middle of 2001, the IFRI database included data on 141 sites with 231 forests, 233 user groups, 94 forest organizations, and 486 products in 12 countries. Drawing upon these data, IFRI researchers are contributing substantially to our understanding of collective action for institutional development, the mediating role institutions play relative to demographic and market pressures in patterns of resource use, and relationships between particular institutions and forest conditions. The paper describes IFRI's strategy for collecting comparable data based on consistent conceptualization and operationalization, summarizes the contributions of IFRI research to the study of collective action for natural resource management, and identifies continuing challenges.

Suggested Citation

  • Poteete, Amy & Ostrom, Elinor, 2003. "In pursuit of comparable concepts and data about collective action," CAPRi working papers 29, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    • Handle: RePEc:fpr:worpps:29
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    1. Antoine Billot & Chantal Marlats, 2009. "Préferences psychologiques et nouvelle économie politique," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00566146, HAL.
    2. Clarisse Cazals & Marie Lemariè, 2011. "Land-use conflicts and quality on the coastal area "Bassin d'Arcachon": a regional newspapers analysis," ERSA conference papers ersa10p1331, European Regional Science Association.
    3. Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & DiGregorio, Monica & McCarthy, Nancy, 2004. "Methods for studying collective action in rural development," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 82(3), pages 197-214, December.
    4. Boafo, Yaw Agyeman & Saito, Osamu & Jasaw, Godfred Seidu & Otsuki, Kei & Takeuchi, Kazuhiko, 2016. "Provisioning ecosystem services-sharing as a coping and adaptation strategy among rural communities in Ghana's semi-arid ecosystem," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 92-102.
    5. Naidu, Sirisha, 2005. "Heterogeneity and Common Pool Resources: Collective Management of Forests in Himachal Pradesh, India," Working Paper Series 14533, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Department of Resource Economics.
    6. 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.
    7. Wanjala, Bernadette, 2016. "Can the big push approach end rural poverty in Africa? : Insights from Sauri millennium village in Kenya," Other publications TiSEM 5a686b22-6749-4e9e-8bf4-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    8. Poteete, Amy R. & Ostrom, Elinor, 2008. "Fifteen Years of Empirical Research on Collective Action in Natural Resource Management: Struggling to Build Large-N Databases Based on Qualitative Research," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 176-195, January.
    9. Zhu Ting & Chen Haiyun & Ganesh Shivakoti & Roland Cochard & Kanokwan Homcha-aim, 2011. "Revisit to community forest in northeast of Thailand: changes in status and utilization," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 385-402, April.
    10. Hoogesteger, Jaime & Bolding, Alex & Sanchis-Ibor, Carles & Veldwisch, Gert Jan & Venot, Jean-Philippe & Vos, Jeroen & Boelens, Rutgerd, 2023. "Communality in farmer managed irrigation systems: Insights from Spain, Ecuador, Cambodia and Mozambique," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    11. Cembalo, Luigi & Pascucci, Stefano & Tagliafierro, Carolina & Caracciolo, Francesco, 2014. "Managing integration in bio-energy chains by promoting a collective action," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182690, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Schusser, Carsten & Krott, Max & Yufanyi Movuh, Mbolo C. & Logmani, Jacqueline & Devkota, Rosan R. & Maryudi, Ahamad & Salla, Manjola & Bach, Ngo Duy, 2015. "Powerful stakeholders as drivers of community forestry — Results of an international study," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 92-101.
    13. Byström, Marie, 2004. "Formal and informal systems in support of farmer management of agro-biodiversity: some policy challenges to consolidate lessons learned," CAPRi working papers 31, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    14. Swallow, Kimberly A. & Swallow, Brent M., 2015. "Explicitly integrating institutions into bioeconomic modeling:," IFPRI discussion papers 1420, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    15. Maria Manuela Castro Silva, 2006. "Collective Action-A Challenge and an Opportunity for Water Governance," ERSA conference papers ersa06p659, European Regional Science Association.
    16. Doss, Cheryl R. & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth, 2015. "Collective Action within the Household: Insights from Natural Resource Management," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 171-183.
    17. Miriam Dunn & Mark D. Rounsevell & Henrik Carlsen & Adis Dzebo & Tiago Capela Lourenço & Joseph Hagg, 2017. "To what extent are land resource managers preparing for high-end climate change in Scotland?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 181-195, March.
    18. Stanzel, Jens & Krott, Max & Schusser, Carsten, 2020. "Power alliances for biodiversity—Results of an international study on community forestry," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    19. Annemarie Groot-Kormelinck & Jos Bijman & Jacques Trienekens & Laurens Klerkx, 2022. "Producer organizations as transition intermediaries? Insights from organic and conventional vegetable systems in Uruguay," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1277-1300, December.
    20. Weituschat, Chiara Sophia & Pascucci, Stefano & Materia, Valentina Cristiana & Caracciolo, Francesco, 2023. "Can contract farming support sustainable intensification in agri-food value chains?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    21. Schusser, Carsten & Krott, Max & Movuh, Mbolo C. Yufanyi & Logmani, Jacqueline & Devkota, Rosan R. & Maryudi, Ahmad & Salla, Manjola, 2016. "Comparing community forestry actors in Cameroon, Indonesia, Namibia, Nepal and Germany," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 81-87.
    22. Cembalo, Luigi & Pascucci, Stefano & Tagliafierro, Carolina & Caracciolo, Francesco, 2014. "Promoting Agro-Energy Supply Chain As A Collective Action," 88th Annual Conference, April 9-11, 2014, AgroParisTech, Paris, France 170481, Agricultural Economics Society.
    23. Matilde Casuccio & Enrico Giovannetti, 2008. "The Cooperative Movement in Bolivia: Fair Trade in Amazzonia Nuts," Department of Economics 0592, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".

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    Keywords

    resource management; Forests and forestry Social aspects.; Collective action; Forest products.; Capacity;
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