Do exports of renewable resources lead to resource depletion? Evidence on fisheries Do exports of renewable resources lead to resource depletion? In the case of fisheries, the answer is yes. This paper uses species-level fisheries data to estimate the causal effect of exporting on the collapse of fisheries. A fishery’s collapse in Japan is used as an instrument for fisheries exports in countries which do not share fish stocks with Japan. Since Japan is a large market for fishery products, the Japanese collapse spurs export demand in other countries. The results suggest a large increase in the likelihood of fisheries collapse as a result of higher exports. Fisheries which are not managed via quotas are more severely affected.
Does trade foster resource management? Evidence on fishing quotas Do resource exports improve the regulation of renewable resources such as fisheries or forests? Theoretical predictions are ambiguous and this is the first empirical analysis to shed light on the effect of exports on resource management. I use detailed country-species level fisheries data to investigate whether exporting facilitates the introduction of quota and Territorial Use Rights for Fishing (TURF) programs for fisheries. The results suggest a positive relationship between a fishery’s exports value and the introduction of quota or TURF programs.
Can communal resource monitoring save the commons? Evidence from community-managed forests in Ugandawith Louis Graham and Anouk S. Rigterink (pre-analysis plan, working paper available on request) This study uses a Randomized Controlled Trial to investigate whether deforestation and forest degradation in community-managed forests can be reduced through systematic forest monitoring by community members. The paper combines causal insights with exceptionally detailed data on forest governance, forest use and forest stocks to improve our understanding of successful approaches to management of communal renewable resources.
Can reminders of rules induce compliance? Experimental evidence from a common pool resource settingwith Louis Graham and Anouk S. Rigterink (submitted, pre-analysis plan) This paper presents results from an RCT exploring whether a behavioural intervention can improve the conservation of a common pool resource. The literature on common pool resource management suggests that the existence of rules and sanctions are important to resource conservation. However, behavioural science suggests that these rules and sanctions may not be 'top of mind' for users of common pool resources. This paper investigates the impact of an SMS message intervention designed to improve users' knowledge of and attentiveness to existing forest use rules. An RCT in Uganda explored the impact of these messages on forest use and compliance with the rules. This paper finds that SMS messages improve self-reported knowledge of forest use rules, and raise the perceived probability of sanctions for rule-breakers. SMS messages do not induce full compliance with forest use rules and only reduce forest use based on few metrics.
Work in Progress
FDI to China and firms' environmental performance in the UK with Richard Kneller and Edward Manderson