Abstract

The sustainable use of common pool resources (CPRs) such as fisheries constitutes a major challenge for society. A large body of empirical studies conducted in discrete time indicates that resource users are able to prevent the ‘tragedy of the commons' under institutional arrangements that can promote cooperation. However, the variability exhibited by the human behaviour and the dynamic nature of renewable resources require continuous time experiments to fully explain the mechanisms underpinning the sustainable use of resources. We conducted CPR experiments in continuous time to investigate how the extraction behaviour of resource users changes in real-time in response to changes in resource availability under communication and no communication. We find that when communication is allowed, users adjust their extraction efforts based on knowledge of previous resource availability. In contrast, when communication is not allowed, users do not incorporate resource availability into their utility function. These results suggest that communication does not merely provide a forum for coordination but mediates a causal relationship between resource levels and extraction behaviour. Our findings may help the development of effective resource management policies.

Keywords

common pool resource; strategic behaviour; institutional arrangements; tragedy of the commons; fishery; sustainability

Published in

Frontiers in marine science
2021, Volume: 8, article number: 644056

SLU Authors

• Kulesz, Micaela

  • Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development


UKÄ Subject classification

Economics
Fish and Wildlife Management


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.644056

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/113072