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RESEÑA A EL GOBIERNO DE LOS BIENES COMUNES. LA EVOLUCIÓN DE LAS INSTITUCIONES DE ACCIÓN COLECTIVA OSTROM, ELINOR.
Get PDFEL GOBIERNO DE LOS BIENES COMUNES.
LA EVOLUCIÓN DE LAS INSTITUCIONES DE ACCIÓN COLECTIVA
OSTROM, ELINOR
TRADUCCIÓN DE CORINA DE ITURBIDE CALVO Y ADRIANA SANDOVAL
FONDO DE CULTURA ECONÓMICA, MÉXICO, D. F., 200
A polycentric approach for coping with climate change
Get PDFThis paper proposes an alternative approach to addressing the complex problems of climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The author, who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, argues that single policies adopted only at a global scale are unlikely to generate sufficient trust among citizens and firms so that collective action can take place in a comprehensive and transparent manner that will effectively reduce global warming. Furthermore, simply recommending a single governmental unit to solve global collective action problems is inherently weak because of free-rider problems. For example, the Carbon Development Mechanism (CDM) can be ‘gamed’ in ways that hike up prices of natural resources and in some cases can lead to further natural resource exploitation. Some flaws are also noticeable in the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD) program. Both the CDM and REDD are vulnerable to the free-rider problem. As an alternative, the paper proposes a polycentric approach at various levels with active oversight of local, regional, and national stakeholders. Efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions are a classic collective action problem that is best addressed at multiple scales and levels. Given the slowness and conflict involved in achieving a global solution to climate change, recognizing the potential for building a more effective way of reducing green house gas emissions at multiple levels is an important step forward. A polycentric approach has the main advantage of encouraging experimental efforts at multiple levels, leading to the development of methods for assessing the benefits and costs of particular strategies adopted in one type of ecosystem and compared to results obtained in other ecosystems. Building a strong commitment to find ways of reducing individual emissions is an important element for coping with this problem, and having others also take responsibility can be more effectively undertaken in small- to medium-scale governance units that are linked together through information networks and monitoring at all levels. This paper was prepared as a background paper for the 2010 World Development Report on Climate Change.Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Environmental Economics&Policies,Climate Change Economics,Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Environment and Energy Efficiency
Political Economy of Village Governance in Contemporary China
Get PDFThesis (PhD) - Indiana University, Political Science, 2006Rural development and transformation in post-Mao China is one of the most remarkable scenarios in transition countries. With the dismantlement of collectivized farming and the rural reforms since the late 1970s, villages have become diverse in terms of institutional structure. In some villages, one or a few cadres still dominate decision making over public affairs, while, in others, villagers actively participate in the decision making in one way or another. How do the different institutional structures of villages influence governance performance in terms of providing public goods and services? Do the villages with more peasant participation in decision making over public affairs have better performance than those with less peasant participation?
This analysis is aimed at an initial answer to the questions by engaging in empirical, in-depth case studies in contemporary rural China. With the help of four Chinese scholars, I identified four villages with different institutional structures as cases for this project. I have examined and compared the four communities' governance performance in providing roads, primary schools, land allocation, and fiscal management. The findings suggest that the villages with more villager participation in decision making have better performance in providing public goods and services. The implication of the study for rural development in transition societies is to encourage peasants' participation and to draw upon their capabilities and local knowledge. The empirical data for the study rely on my field research of six months in the four communities in 2004. The methods of collecting the data include interviews with villagers and cadres as well as extensive field observations and archival research
Forest Governance in a Frontier: An Analysis of the Dynamic Interplay between Property Rights, Land-Use Norms, and Agricultural Expansion in the Mosquitia Forest Corridor of Honduras and Nicaragua
Get PDFThesis (PhD) - Indiana University, Political Science, 2007Government legislation of protected areas is frequently prescribed as a means to protect forest lands. The effectiveness of protected areas is however, highly questionable as protected areas have been found to fail as often as they succeed. This dissertation takes a nuanced approach to forest policy analysis by examining how specific property rights interact with resource users' institutions to either promote or thwart frontier forest conservation.
Frontier forests represent the last remaining swaths of tropical forest. They are also the homelands of indigenous peoples who have lived in these remote regions for centuries. A principal threat to frontier forests, and the people living within them, is agricultural expansion caused by mestizo (non-indigenous) migration.
This study integrates methods that include institutional analysis, ethnographic fieldwork, and land-cover analysis to examine how property-rights policies influence agricultural expansion in the Mosquitia Forest Corridor, a biological corridor that runs from eastern Honduras into northern Nicaragua. I compare the ability to stop mestizo expansion in two protected areas in the Mosquitia: one reserve under government management and the other governed by native residents who hold common-property rights to their lands. The variation between sites creates opportune conditions to investigate whether property rights are a determining factor in preventing mestizo encroachment, and the impact that different property-rights policies have on residents' resource institutions and the broader resilience of the social and ecological systems.
The study findings are that public policies that recognize local governance institutions promote resilient forest management systems. I find that native residents who hold common-property rights are better able to stop agricultural expansion than are public managers. Forests under indigenous territorial management are better conserved than those under public management. Furthermore, the analysis of institutional change finds that native residents are better able to address market and demographic pressures introduced by mestizo settlers when they are supported by public policies that recognize their common-property claims
LAND USE INSTITUTIONS IN AN URBANIZING LANDSCAPE
Get PDFThesis (PhD) - Indiana University, Public Policy, 2005Development of land use can be controlled through public means such zoning or through private agreements such as property owners' associations, conservation easements and contracts. This dissertation investigates land use institutions in an urbanizing landscape, specifically zoning's impact on land use change and fragmentation, citizen led monitoring of neighborhood zoning violations, alternatives to zoning, and entrepreneurial citizens' development of alternative land use institutions.
In order to assess the impact of land use institutions in an urbanizing environment, I use multiple methods including an institutional analysis that provides the context for understanding the interrelationships between bureaucrats, politicians, and the citizenry. Statistical analyses uncover the relationship between zoning and land cover change and forest fragmentation. A game theoretic study highlights conditions to expect zoning compliance, especially when GIS reduces information costs. An institutional analysis and agent-based model explore the creation of alternative land use institutions.
Five conclusions are derived from this study. First, zoning is driving some conversion of land to urban uses, although this may be due to the types of zoning rules that are adopted. Second, zoning could be used more effectively to reduce forest fragmentation. Third, adoption of online GIS technology could improve zoning enforcement through a reduction in citizen monitoring costs. Fourth, viable alternatives to zoning exist for openspace preservation and cooperative management. Finally, government insensitivity and changing citizen preferences drive the demand for alternative institutions. Land use institutions in urbanizing landscapes can protect community resources, but communities need to be more conscious about their decisions regarding institution creation, implementation, and enforcement in order to control the urbanizing process and reduce unwanted effects
What reciprocity? The impact of culture and socio-political background on trust games in Namibia and South Africa
No full textBuilding Robustness to Disturbance: Governance in Southern African Peace Parks
Get PDFThesis (Ph.D.) - Indiana University, Public Policy, 2008Transboundary conservation has gained currency over the past decade as an effective means for achieving a wide array of goals ranging from improved biodiversity conservation to regional economic development to the promotion of peace between countries. Studies to analyze these competing claims oscillate between views of transboundary protected areas (TPBAs) as panaceas that can solve wide-ranging societal challenges in any type of setting to studies that view them as idiosyncratic entities with no generalizable traits, and few studies assess institutional arrangements for governance. This study, by contrast, uses 150 key informant interviews within two TBPAs in southern Africa - the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in Botswana and South Africa and the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park in Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe - to address analytically how different governance structures of transboundary protected areas maintain robustness in response to various types of disturbance.
The insights arise from the fundamentally different institutional development paths of the two cases. This study argues that that the bottom-up institutional development and the slow, unforced evolution of governance in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park have allowed governing bodies to learn how to adapt and respond to transformations in the social-ecological system from an operational level. By contrast, institutional development in the Great Limpopo has struggled operationally due to the top-down imposition of the park on local-level communities and officials and the short time horizons permitted for goal attainment. However, top-down park formation has resulted in other accomplishments, primarily in bridging international boundaries. The central premise is that the national-level commitment to the Great Limpopo results in greater degrees of cooperation at a policy level than in a park that develops from the bottom-up. Such high levels of policy cooperation without parallel gains in operational cooperation have led to unexpected challenges in the Great Limpopo
Adaptabilidad institucional : dinámicas en la evolución de los sistemas socio-ecológicos de uso del agua en España
Get PDFDescripció del recurs: el 04/11/2010)Este estudio investiga los procesos de adaptación institucional al cambio en los sistemas socio-ecológicos (SESs) basados en la gestión y el uso del agua en España. En concreto, el análisis de la adaptabilidad se aborda en este trabajo de tesis doctoral a través de una aproximación multidisciplinar con el propósito de articular un marco analítico que incluya las diferentes dimensiones implicadas en las dinámicas de los SESs. El estudio de los factores que ejercen una mayor influencia a la hora de explicar la evolución de los SESs se aproxima desde diferentes campos de las ciencias sociales relacionados con el análisis institucional. La originalidad de la aproximación de este estudio reside en dos aspectos. A nivel teórico combina aproximaciones analíticas ya existentes con un enfoque innovador y propone un marco analítico propio; a nivel empírico utiliza una estructura multinivel para analizar la evolución tanto del régimen institucional del agua en España como de los SESs a nivel local-regional. A nivel teórico, el desarrollo del marco teórico y analítico que propone este trabajo es el resultado de la combinación de teorías provenientes de la economía institucional, como las teorías sobre la gestión de recursos de propiedad común; del campo de la Historia económica, como las teorías sobre el cambio institucional que incluyen tanto las reglas formales como informales. Este marco teórico y analítico está fuertemente inspirado en los conceptos de resiliencia (resilience) y robustez (robustness), originalmente utilizados en el campo de la ecología y la ingeniería, respectivamente. Los estudios sobre resiliencia y robustez reciben especial atención a estos últimos puesto que ofrecen un marco teórico que se interesa específicamente por las dinámicas de los SESs. A nivel empírico, este estudio incluye cuatro casos de estudio de SESs a nivel local-regional que han sido objeto de estudio desde campos como la biología, la hidrogeología, el derecho o la economía aplicada. Estos casos son: el regadío tradicional de Mula (Murcia), l'horta de Valencia (Comunidad Valenciana), el acuífero de la Mancha Occidental (Castilla La-Mancha) y el acuífero del Baix Llobregat (Cataluña). El desarrollo teórico y el trabajo empírico sugieren que los procesos de adaptación institucional de los SESs a los cambios están fuertemente influenciados, tanto por variables internas al funcionamiento del sistema socio-ecológico y del grupo de usuarios (homogeneidad de intereses y preferencias, información, liderazgo), como por variables propias del sistema de gobernanza en el que están inmersos los SESs (grado de autonomía o los espacios de intercambio y participación entre actores). Esta influencia hace patente, por un lado, que las políticas públicas que se implementan a nivel nacional o supranacional (en el marco de la Unión Europea), tienen implicaciones directas en las herramientas que utilizan los usuarios para integrar los cambios y gestionar situaciones de estrés o de crisis del sistema. Y, por el otro, que el desarrollo de la capacidad de reflexión y anticipación de los usuarios del recurso a las consecuencias de las perturbaciones juegan un papel esencial en la capacidad de respuesta de estos sistemas. Las conclusiones de este trabajo pueden utilizarse para tratar aquellas cuestiones relacionadas con las políticas ambientales que requieran de una gobernabilidad de las relaciones entre sistemas naturales y sociales que potencie sus capacidades de adaptación a un entorno de complejidad creciente y constante cambio, o de la gestión de conflictos caracterizados por la presencia de posiciones divergentes entre una multiplicidad de actores situados a diferentes niveles.This study investigates the processes of institutional adaptation to change in social-ecological systems (SESs) based on water management and use. More concretely, the analysis of adaptability in this thesis use a cross-disciplinary approach with the objective to outline an explanatory framework that includes various dimensions involved in SES' dynamics. The key factors that explain this evolution are analysed from different social sciences that focus in institutional analysis. The originality of this study is twofold: at the theoretical level, it combines pre-existing analytical tools in an innovative way and proposes a groundbreaking analytical framework; at the empirical level, it uses a multilevel approach to analyse the evolution of the water institutional regime in Spain and the developments of the SESs at the local and regional scale. At the theoretical level, the study develops a theoretical and analytical framework based on a combination of theories developed by Institutional Economics (such as the theories of common resource management) and Economic History (such as the theories of institutional change). This analytical framework is also strongly inspired by the concepts of resilience and robustness in social-ecological systems, both concepts borrowed respectively from ecology and engineering. Resilience and robustness received special attention as they propose a specific theoretical framework particularly well-adapted to studying the dynamics of the SESs. At the empirical level, this thesis includes four case studies of local - regional SESs which have been the subject of studies from the field of biology, hydrogeology, law or applied economy. The four cases include: the traditional Mula irrigation system (Murcia), the traditional irrigation system (huerta) of Valencia (Comunidad Valenciana), the aquifer of the Mancha Occidental (Castilla-La Mancha) and the aquifer of the Llobregat Delta (Catalonia). The results of the theoretical and empirical work suggest that the institutional adaptation processes of the SESs are strongly influenced by variables related to the internal functioning of the system and the users group (homogeneity of perceptions and interests, information and leadership) as well as by variables related to the external governance system in which the SESs are embedded (degree of autonomy, spaces for exchange and participation among actors). This influence shows, on the one hand, that public policies implemented at the national of supranational level (European Union) have direct implications in the tools used by the resource users when adapting to change and managing situations of stress or crisis of the system. And, on the other hand, the development of capacity for reflection and anticipation by users on the consequences of internal and external disturbances plays a key role in the system's capacity to respond to change
Understanding Institutional Diversity
No full textThe analysis of how institutions are formed, how they operate and change, and how they influence behavior in society has become a major subject of inquiry in politics, sociology, and economics. A leader in applying game theory to the understanding of institutional analysis, Elinor Ostrom provides in this book a coherent method for undertaking the analysis of diverse economic, political, and social institutions.
Understanding Institutional Diversity explains the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, which enables a scholar to choose the most relevant level of interaction for a particular question. This framework examines the arena within which interactions occur, the rules employed by participants to order relationships, the attributes of a biophysical world that structures and is structured by interactions, and the attributes of a community in which a particular arena is placed.
The book explains and illustrates how to use the IAD in the context of both field and experimental studies. Concentrating primarily on the rules aspect of the IAD framework, it provides empirical evidence about the diversity of rules, the calculation process used by participants in changing rules, and the design principles that characterize robust, self-organized resource governance institutions
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