Transaction Costs, Collective Action and Survival of Heterogeneous Co-management Institutions: Case Study of Forest Management Organisations in West Bengal, India
通过调查印度西孟加拉邦七个森林保护委员会，发现种姓异质性、政治异质性、土地不平等和信任等因素系统影响交易成本和集体行动，且稳健的制度能降低合作成本。
Abstract Cost-effective natural resource management is important for equity and efficiency. Yet transaction costs of cooperation may pose a challenge to heterogeneous co-management institutions. We conducted a survey in seven Forest Protection Committees of West Bengal, India to examine this hypothesis empirically. We find that: (1) among several factors, caste heterogeneity, distance to forest, political heterogeneity, land inequality and trust systematically influence transaction costs and collective action; and (2) robust institutions bear less costs of cooperation. The implication is that transaction costs related to heterogeneity may exert significant influence on successes or failures of co-management.