Modes of Collective Action in Village Economies: Evidence from Natural and Artefactual Field Experiments in a Developing Country, Asian Development Review, Vol. 30 (1), pp. 31-51
Sawada, Yasuyuki; Kasahara, Ryuji; Aoyagi, Keitaro; Shoji, Masahiro; Ueyama, Mika | March 2013
Abstract
In a canonical model of collective action, individual contribution to collective
action is negatively correlated with group size. Yet, empirical evidence on the
group size effect has been mixed, partly due to heterogeneities in group activities.
In this paper, we first construct a simple model of collective action with the
free rider problem, altruism, public goods, and positive externalities of social
networks. We then empirically test the theoretical implications of the group
size effect on individual contribution to four different types of collective action,
i.e., monetary or nonmonetary contribution to directly or indirectly productive
activities. To achieve this, we collect and employ artefactual field experimental
data such as public goods and dictator games conducted in southern Sri Lanka
under a natural experimental situation where the majority of farmers were relocated
to randomly selected communities based on the government lottery. This
unique situation enables us to identify the causal effects of community size on
collective action. We find that the levels of collective action can be explained
by the social preferences of farmers. We also show evidence of free riding by
self-interested households with no landholdings. The pattern of collective action,
however, differs significantly by mode of activity—collective action that is
directly rather than indirectly related to production is less likely to suffer from
the free rider problem. Also, monetary contribution is less likely to cause free
riding than nonmonetary labor contribution. Unlike labor contributions, monetary
contributions involve collection of fees which can be easily tracked and
verified, possibly leading to better enforcement of collective action.
Citation
Sawada, Yasuyuki; Kasahara, Ryuji; Aoyagi, Keitaro; Shoji, Masahiro; Ueyama, Mika. 2013. Modes of Collective Action in Village Economies: Evidence from Natural and Artefactual Field Experiments in a Developing Country, Asian Development Review, Vol. 30 (1), pp. 31-51. © Asian Development Bank and Asian Development Bank Institute. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/1631. License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.Keywords
collective action
social preference
natural and artefactual field
experiment
irrigation
South Asia
Citable URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11540/1631Metadata
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