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ABSTRACT Incentives are a widely used tool for addressing deforestation and are often implemented as collective contracts. Local institutions are crucial to the solution of collective action problems associated with forest conservation, but we still have little knowledge of how to encourage institutional creation through policy. Since collective contracts do not eliminate freeriding incentives, we argue that their success hinges on their ability to stimulate the creation of institutions for collective action. To test these ideas, we analyze data from an incentivized lab‐in‐the‐field experimental collective action game played with natural resource users in four developing countries. The experiment simulates management of a common forest, and groups were randomly assigned to a conservation incentive payment condition. We observe how much group members attempt to coordinate on the creation of institutional rules and find experimental evidence that an external incentive program can stimulate the endogenous creation of informal institutions. 

Abstract The introduction of formal collective property rights to forest lands appears to have improved both environmental and economic outcomes, but there is limited evidence on how these reforms affect cooperative behavior among local resource users. We propose that when national governments issue collective land rights, they strengthen the collective psychological ownership among coowners and produce increased levels of cooperative behavior. Analyzing data from 213 forest user groups in 10 countries, and a framed field experiment in a subset of sites, we find that collective land titling is associated with significantly higher levels of cooperative behavior including increased levels of trust, more frequent interpersonal interactions related to both forestry and nonforestry activities, more self‐governing institutions, and greater equality in resource extraction patterns. 

Abstract Collective action among public officials is necessary for the effective delivery of many social services, but relatively little is known about how it can be fostered through policy reforms. In this article, we compare cooperation among public officials within decentralized versus centrally‐administered municipalities in Honduras. Leveraging a quasi‐experiment in health sector reform, coupled with behavioral games and social network surveys, we find that decentralization is associated with greater cooperation. When they are able to communicate, health sector workers in decentralized municipalities contribute more to a public good than their centrally‐administered counterparts. This increase in cooperative behavior results in part from the decentralization reform engendering greater numbers of interactions and stronger ties across different levels of government. These findings indicate that institutional reforms like decentralization can favorably reconfigure patterns of social interactions across public organizations, which is an important component of administrative capacity in developing countries. 

Socioeconomic inequalities complicate the local governance process, especially in low- and middle-income countries. With limited public resources and high socioeconomic inequalities, local governments can find themselves in a vicious circle of increasing inequalities, declining ability to address needs, and mounting social problems. Here, we investigate a possible way out of the vicious circle: policy interventions that help reduce the strain of inequality on local government responsiveness. We argue that interventions are effective in dampening the strain when these recognize the leadership role of local government officials. To test our arguments, we analyze longitudinal data on how citizen satisfaction with local governments varies in 56 Chilean territories over a 15-year period. We find that high socioeconomic inequality is associated with lower overall citizen satisfaction with local government performance, but exogenous interventions can dampen this association when local politicians take the lead in planning and implementing the interventions. 

Policy Brief: The Amazon has a diverse array of social and environmental initiatives that adopt forest-based land-use practices to promote rural development and support local livelihoods. However, they are often insufficiently recognized as transformative pathways to sustainability. This brief 1) identifies the key factors that enable these place-based initiatives to achieve successful social-ecological outcomes and 2) suggests policies to better support these grassroots efforts in addressing environmental and social challenges in the region, such as: • Promoting policies that prioritize and empower local grassroots leadership in sustainability initiatives. • Encouraging diversification in activities and partnerships to increase resilience and impact. • Promoting collaboration across different governance levels and sectors to support sustainability efforts. 

Political trust is essential for effective policy implementation, yet declining levels of trust create a vicious cycle where diminished public confidence undermines policy responsiveness, leading to further erosion of trust. This dissertation explores how specific public policies can foster political trust and examines how trust itself influences the relationship between governance structures and political attitudes, particularly concerning support for climate policies. In Chapter 2, I examine the impact of self-targeting public policies, where citizens can choose to opt into benefits, on political trust. My empirical analysis reveals that self-targeting enhances confidence in local government compared to pre-targeting approaches, which do not yield significant results. The findings suggest that policy design, particularly the targeting mechanism, plays a critical role in shaping political attitudes. Chapter 3 argues that bottom-up policies that are participatory in nature, like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), can help mitigate the negative effect of inequalities on political trust. Using a quasi-experimental framework, I find strong evidence in support of this argument, reinforcing the importance of inclusive policy design in enhancing democratic processes. The final chapter shifts focus to governance structures, exploring how exposure to non-state climate actions influences climate policy support in less polarized contexts. My results indicate that while exposure does not directly affect policy support, citizens with higher political trust are less likely to hold governments accountable for climate inaction. This underscores the critical need to understand the nuanced role of political trust as a mediator for climate policy support. 

My research asks the following questions: What are the ramifications of male dominance in positions of power? Do they adequately address the concerns of women constituents? How do electoral quotas influence the trajectory of political careers for underrepresented groups? Which subgroups derive the greatest benefits from quota implementation? How do voters respond to the introduction of quotas, and what factors shape their reactions? I theorize and offer causal evidence on the consequences of inequitable political representation and the role of quotas in remedying disparities in political inequality. Through a combination of observational and experimental data spanning various levels ranging from legislatures to voters, my research examines quotas (or lack thereof) from multiple perspectives using a range of methodological approaches. My research demonstrates that while there is a risk of neglecting policy issues faced by underrepresented groups in legislative spaces, indicating the need for institutionalizing quotas, quotas can have asymmetric effects on citizens’ political behavior. Quotas can bridge gaps in political participation by demobilizing dominant groups while simultaneously mobilizing underrepresented groups. However, their repercussions extend beyond the realm of politics and have implications for intergroup relations. Thus, my research highlights the nuances of political representation and examines the effects of quotas on governance structures and political behavior. My dissertation comprises three distinct yet interconnected empirical chapters, all situated within the context of India. Overall, this dissertation offers lessons not only for those interested in Indian politics but also for everyone seeking to understand the role of quotas in addressing political inequality. 

We present the results of a hybrid research design that borrows from both experimental techniques—experimental games—and observational techniques—surveys—to examine the relationships between basic human values and exposure to natural ecosystems, on the one hand, and collective action for resource governance, on the other. We initially hypothesize that more frequent exposure to forests, and more pro-environmental values will be associated with more conservation action. However, we find that other values—tradition and conformity—are more important than pro-environmental values or exposure to nature. Our results imply that resource governance is likely to be more successful where resource users hold values that facilitate cooperation, not necessarily strong pro-environmental values. 

The complexities of many environmental problems make the task of identifying potential solutions daunting. We present a diagnostic framework to help guide environmental policy analysts and practitioners to think more systematically about the major types of environmental problems and their possible policy responses. Our framework helps the user classify a problem into 1 of the 3 main problem categories, and then for each of the problem types think about contextual factors that will influence the choice of policy responses. The main problem types are (1) common-pool resource (CPR) problems (e.g., overfishing, groundwater depletion, and forest degradation); (2) pollution problems (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication, acid rain, and smog); and (3) hazards (natural and human-made hazards, including hurricanes, wildfires, and levy collapse). For each of these problems, the framework asks users to consider several contextual factors that are known to influence the likely effectiveness of different policy responses, particularly fast-thinking behavior. The framework is a heuristic tool that will help novice analysts develop a deeper understanding of the problems at hand and an appreciation for the complexities involved in coming up with workable solutions to environmental challenges. The proposed framework is not prescriptive but analytical in that it asks users guiding questions to assess multiple aspects of a problem. The resulting problem assessment helps to narrow down the number of viable options for environmental policy responses, each of which may, in turn, be assessed with an eye toward their legal, political, and social viability.