Andersson, Krister P., and Arun Agrawal. 2006. "Equity, Institutions, and the Environment: Socioeconomic Aspects of Local Forest Governance." Presented at "Survival of the Commons: Mounting Challenges and New Realities," the Eleventh Conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property, Bali, Indonesia, June 19-23, 2006.

Abstract

"Local institutions matter for the relationships between socioeconomic inequalities and forest conditions. Analyzing these relationships in 319 observations from local forest user groups in six countries, we detect no systematic associations between socioeconomic attributes and changing forest conditions. Only when controlling for the presence and performance of local institutions is it possible to discern statistically significant regularities. The fact that we observe systematic differences in these associations depending on the local institutions supports the notion that local institutions have a moderating effect on the relationship between socioeconomic inequalities and ecological sustainability. Socioeconomic inequalities seem to influence ecological sustainability, not directly, but via local institutions that may mitigate, enhance, or even completely cancel out the effect that these end up having on the natural environment."