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Giving birds a starting date: The curious social solution to a water resource issue in the U.S. West

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  • Theesfeld, Insa
  • MacKinnon, Anne

Abstract

Examining a natural resource management system, we show that what first looks like rigid path dependency is actually stepped incremental change. The theoretical question then arises of whether it is possible to predict when a natural resource governance system will follow such an incremental path of institutional change. Our investigation of the prior appropriation water rights system as administered in the state of Wyoming reveals that mental models, based on factors such as strong personal connections with administrators, plus strong confidence in the system, tend to favor incremental change. We note that choosing incremental change is not without risk. While systems that undertake wholesale and rapid change risk a good deal – exposing themselves to a potential shower of unanticipated consequences – systems that follow the path of incremental change also take risks. Incremental change may mean successful accommodation of new needs that demand attention, or it may be “too little too late,” ultimately allowing the pent-up pressure of unmet needs to push the system over a threshold into collapse.

Suggested Citation

  • Theesfeld, Insa & MacKinnon, Anne, 2014. "Giving birds a starting date: The curious social solution to a water resource issue in the U.S. West," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 110-119.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:97:y:2014:i:c:p:110-119
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.11.009
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Arthur T. Denzau & Douglass C. North, 1994. "Shared Mental Models: Ideologies and Institutions," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 3-31, February.
    3. Gary D. Libecap, 2011. "Institutional Path Dependence in Climate Adaptation: Coman's "Some Unsettled Problems of Irrigation"," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(1), pages 64-80, February.
    4. North, Douglass C. & Weingast, Barry R., 1989. "Constitutions and Commitment: The Evolution of Institutions Governing Public Choice in Seventeenth-Century England," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 49(4), pages 803-832, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Soliev, Ilkhom & Theesfeld, Insa & Wegerich, Kai & Platonov, Alexander, 2017. "Dealing with “Baggage” in Riparian Relationship on Water Allocation: A Longitudinal Comparative Study from the Ferghana Valley," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 148-162.

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