Browsing by Author "White, T. Anderson"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

Common Property and Collective Action: Cooperative Watershed Management in Haiti
(1992) White, T. Anderson; Runge, C. Ford
"Soil erosion is an important contributor to the agricultural decline, rural poverty and emigration which characterize rural Haiti today. Numerous soil conservation projects have used top-down approaches which persuade peasant participation with external incentives and inherently assume peasants to be individualistic, non-cooperative actors. These projects have generally not resulted in sustained conservation. An alternate strategy was utilized in Maissade, Haiti, where peasants now cooperate to treat small, multiple-owned watersheds. Because of up-and downstream interdependencies, watersheds represent common-pool resources. "Field research was conducted to understand the nature of the cooperative activity and to learn of the socio-economic factors associated with participation (e.g. cooperation) and defection. Study results indicate that approximately one-half of watershed-landholders participate and a majority of labor is contributed by persons who do not own land in the watershed. Participants also regularly treat non-participant land, and land tenure status was independent of both landholder participation and structure placement. Indicators of landholder exposure to transboundary erosion and the potential to economically benefit are associated with participation thile the realization of a direct benefit is not. Landholder wealth status is independent of participation though landholders are significantly more wealthy than non-watershed participants. Participation is also strongly associated with membership in farmer cooperatives and labor exchange groups, and the previous adoption of soil conservation innovations. These findings challenge conventional wisdom concerning peasant behavior in Haiti and also suggest that support of indigenous cooperative institutions can facilitate the treatment of common environmental problems."
Land Tenure and the Adoption of Agricultural Technology in Haiti
(2000) Smucker, Glenn R.; White, T. Anderson; Bannister, Michael
"There has long been an active debate in Haiti - as in many other developing countries - over whether or not the customary tenure system constrains technology adoption and agricultural development, and whether cadaster and land titling should be national priorities. This paper contributes to this debate by reviewing and interpreting the body of literature and new empirical evidence concerning the relationship between land tenure and the adoption of technology in rural Haiti. The findings suggest that (a) formal title is not necessarily more secure than informal arrangements, (b) informal arrangements based on traditional social capital resources assure affordable and flexible access to land for most people, and (c) perceived stability of access to land - via stability of personal and social relationships - is a more important determinant of technology adoption than mode of access. The paper concludes that there is no definitive relationship between tenure and technology adoption by peasants; peasants are preoccupied more by political and economic insecurity than insecure tenure; and rather than tinkering with formalizing tenure, policy makers should prioritize other more fundamental rural sector reforms. The paper ends by considering some of the implications for theory and suggests several avenues for future research on land policy."
Land Tenure and the Adoption of Agricultural Technology in Haiti
(2002) Smucker, Glenn R.; White, T. Anderson; Bannister, Michael
"There has long been an active debate in Haiti-as in many other developing countries-over whether or not the customary tenure system constrains technology adoption and agricultural development, and whether cadaster and land titling should be national priorities. This paper contributes to this debate by reviewing and interpreting the body of literature and new empirical evidence concerning the relationship between land tenure and the adoption of technology in rural Haiti. The findings suggest that (a) formal title is not necessarily more secure than informal arrangements, (b) informal arrangements based on traditional social capital resources assure affordable and flexible access to land for most people, and (c) perceived stability of access to land-via stability of personal and social relationships - is a more important determinant of technology adoption than mode of access. The paper concludes that there is no definitive relationship between tenure and technology adoption by peasants; peasants are preoccupied more by political and economic insecurity than insecure tenure; and rather than tinkering with formalizing tenure, policy makers should prioritize other more fundamental rural sector reforms. The paper ends by considering some of the implications for theory and suggests several avenues for future research on land policy."
Multiple Functions of Common Property Regimes
(1997) Swallow, Brent M.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth; Jackson, Lee Ann; Williams, Timothy O.; White, T. Anderson
"The papers in this panel explore several dimensions of multiple-function common property regimes. The overview paper explores the conceptual and analytical challenges of multiple-function common property regimes. Two papers discuss the importance of understanding the competitive and complementary nature of different uses of water and land resources by different users. The final paper focuses on a less tangible function of common property: construction and maintenance of social capital."
Policy Lessons from Natural Resources Projects in Haiti: A Framework for Reform
(1994) White, T. Anderson; Gregersen, Hans M.
"Haiti is currently undergoing its largest economic crisis and political opportunity of this century. We present this brief, and the accompanying working paper, in the hope that policymakers will be able to make the reforms necessary for Haiti's development. We hope this brief can help point the way for discussions about that reform. "Rural poverty exists and has increased because of longstanding political, economic, and cultural divisions. The divisions occur among the poor rural majority, the small middle class, and the merchant and military elite. "Taxes on rural production, coupled with a lack of government investments in public services and rural areas, reinforce the divisions. Indirectly, they lead to deforestation, land degradation, and poverty. "More direct causes of poverty and degradation are the pervasive insecurity facing Haiti's people and deficit in production resources (land and capital). Another cause is the limited opportunity for expansion of off-farm employment that would reduce pressure on the land. "Because they were seen as a political threat, past governments repressed local organizations that form the basis for democratic development. Reversing the trend of land degradation and poverty in Haiti will be a slow and difficult process. It will require substantial policy reform, administrative reorganization, and more effective use of donor funds."
Private Exchange and Social Capital: Multiple Functions of Common Property Regimes in Haiti
(1996) White, T. Anderson
"A great challenge facing CPR enthusiasts today is understanding the conditions in which CPRs can be successful. Meeting this challenge requires understanding when and why individuals choose to create and maintain CPRs. Research in this domain often focuses on the relationship between individual incentives and the output of collective action (e.g. the managed forest or irrigation system). Increasingly, practitioners and researchers realize that individuals often contribute to collective actions for reasons not directly related to the output. This paper describes the findings of research on factors associated with individual choice to participate in watershed management groups in Haiti, as well as the survival of those groups. Results indicate that (1) a substantial percentage of individual participation could be explained by motivations associated with process, rather than the output, of action; and that (2) high levels of pre-existing collective action groups were a necessary condition for the survival of watershed management groups. A majority of participants (and almost all of those who did not directly gain from management) were members of labor exchange groups and farmer associations. Additional analyses indicated that labor exchange groups serve as antecessors of more complex forms of public good-producing groups. This study indicates that the existence of some 'critical mass' of social capital is a necessary condition for successful CPRs, and that in addition to utilitarian functions, CPRs maintain and extend that social capital."