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Collective Action for Local Commons Management in Rural Yunnan, China: Empirical Evidence and Hypotheses Using Evolutionary Game Theory

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  • Junichi Ito

Abstract

This paper presents hypotheses regarding collective actions for irrigation management, with the help of evolutionary game theory. Data for the analysis were collected by the author from the irrigation system of rural Yunnan, China. An econometric analysis reveals that collective action will be forthcoming in rural communities where few nonfarm job opportunities are provided, the degree of income disparity is quite small, and resource restrictions are moderately problematic. The finding that communities without local government intervention outperform those with intervention supports the proverbial view that external agencies should delegate significant parts of the control rights of common pool resources to immediate stakeholders.

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  • Junichi Ito, 2012. "Collective Action for Local Commons Management in Rural Yunnan, China: Empirical Evidence and Hypotheses Using Evolutionary Game Theory," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 88(1), pages 181-200.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:landec:v:88:y:2012:i:1:p:181-200
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    2. Lorenz Gollwitzer & David Ockwell & Adrian Ely, 2015. "Institutional Innovation in the Management of Pro-Poor Energy Access in East Africa," SPRU Working Paper Series 2015-29, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    3. Shaun Larcom & Terry Gevelt, 2019. "Do Voluntary Commons Associations Deliver Sustainable Grazing Outcomes? An Empirical Study of England," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(1), pages 51-74, May.
    4. Amir H. Aghmashhadi & Samaneh Zahedi & Azadeh Kazemi & Christine Fürst & Giuseppe T. Cirella, 2022. "Conflict Analysis of Physical Industrial Land Development Policy Using Game Theory and Graph Model for Conflict Resolution in Markazi Province," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, March.
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    6. Ito, Junichi & Feuer, Hart N. & Kitano, Shinichi & Komiyama, Midori, 2018. "A Policy Evaluation of the Direct Payment Scheme for Collective Stewardship of Common Property Resources in Japan," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 141-151.
    7. Wenjia Peng & Brian E. Robinson & Hua Zheng & Cong Li & Fengchun Wang & Ruonan Li, 2019. "Telecoupled Sustainable Livelihoods in an Era of Rural–Urban Dynamics: The Case of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, May.
    8. Cao, Yu & Zhang, Xiaoling & He, Lingxiao, 2020. "Collective Action in maintaining rural infrastructures: cadre-farmer relationship, institution rules and their interaction terms," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    9. Xie, Hualin & Wang, Wei & Zhang, Xinmin, 2018. "Evolutionary game and simulation of management strategies of fallow cultivated land: A case study in Hunan province, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 86-97.
    10. Samaneh Zahedi & Amir Hedayati Aghmashhadi & Christine Fürst, 2021. "Optimal Politics of Conflict over Physical-Industrial Development Using a Technique of Cooperative Game Theory in Iran," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-20, November.
    11. Sullivan, Abigail & York, Abigail M. & An, Li & Yabiku, Scott T. & Hall, Sharon J., 2017. "How does perception at multiple levels influence collective action in the commons? The case of Mikania micrantha in Chitwan, Nepal," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1-10.
    12. Godwin Kwabla Ekpe & Anna A. Klis, 2023. "Spillover Effects in Irrigated Agriculture from the Groundwater Commons," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 86(3), pages 469-507, November.
    13. Ahmed Soliman & Andreas Thiel & Matteo Roggero, 2021. "Institutional Performance of Collective Irrigation Systems: A Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis in the Nile Delta of Egypt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-29, January.
    14. Liangzhen Zang & Yahua Wang & Yiqing Su, 2021. "Does Farmland Scale Management Promote Rural Collective Action? An Empirical Study of Canal Irrigation Systems in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-25, November.
    15. Rui Jia & Qian Lu, 2020. "Land transfer, collective action and the adoption of soil and water conservation measures in the Loess Plateau of China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 102(3), pages 1279-1304, July.
    16. Nie, Zihan & Yang, Xiaojun & Tu, Qin, 2020. "Resource scarcity and cooperation: Evidence from a gravity irrigation system in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    17. Wang, Yahua & Chen, Chunliang & Araral, Eduardo, 2016. "The Effects of Migration on Collective Action in the Commons: Evidence from Rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 79-93.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q25 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Water

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