Article

Transaction Costs, Communication and Spatial Coordination in Payment for Ecosystem Services Schemes

Details

Citation

Banerjee S, Cason T, de Vries F & Hanley N (2017) Transaction Costs, Communication and Spatial Coordination in Payment for Ecosystem Services Schemes. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 83, pp. 68-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2016.12.005

Abstract
Agricultural producer participation and spatial coordination of land use decisions are key components for enhancing the effective delivery of ecosystem services from private land. However, inducing participation in Payment for Ecosystem Services schemes for coordinating land management choices is challenging from a policy design perspective owing to transaction costs associated with participation. This paper employs a laboratory experiment to investigate the impact of such costs on participation and land use in the context of an Agglomeration Bonus (AB) scheme. The AB creates a coordination game with multiple Nash equilibria related to alternative spatially-coordinated land use patterns. The experiment varies transaction costs between two levels (high and low), which affects the risks and payoffs of coordinating on the different equilibria. Additionally, an option to communicate is implemented between neighboring producers arranged on a local network to facilitate spatial coordination. Results indicate a significant difference in participation and performance under high and low transaction costs, with lower uptake and performance when transaction costs are high. These effects are, however, impacted by transaction costs faced in the past. Communication improves both AB participation rates and performance with the effect being greater for participants facing high transaction costs.

Keywords
Agglomeration Bonus; Payments for Ecosystem Services; Content Analysis; Coordination Games; Lab Experiments; Local Networks; Strategic Uncertainty

Journal
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management: Volume 83

StatusPublished
FundersEuropean Investment Bank
Publication date31/05/2017
Publication date online21/12/2016
Date accepted by journal19/12/2016
URLhttp://hdl.handle.net/1893/24946
PublisherElsevier
ISSN0095-0696

Projects (1)