Browsing by Author "York, Abigail"

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The Impact of Institutional Heterogeneity: A Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Management of the Invasive Mile-a-Minute Weed (Mikania micrantha) in Chitwan, Nepal
(2015) Sullivan, Abigail; York, Abigail; White, David
"Based on fieldwork conducted in 2014, differences in institutional arrangements and efforts to remove an invasive plant, the-mile-a-minute weed (Mikania micrantha), are explored in five case study community forests in Chitwan, Nepal. An institutional analysis informs an examination of heterogeneous governance relationships and norms related to Mikania management, while a content analysis provides an understanding of reoccurring themes in the interviews and their implications for social and ecological outcomes in the community forests. The complex governance relationships and regular themes of distrust of government and non-government officials help to explain collective action efforts and management decisions. In addition to distrust, other factors influencing Mikania management are explored in the case study community forests. The content analysis suggests that Mikania is impacting people’s daily lives but the degree of severity and the response to the disruption varies substantially and is heavily impacted by other problems experienced in each case. Our results indicate that understanding institutional arrangements and their impacts on community issues, like trust of actors, can contribute to successful efforts to manage Mikania, and other invasive plants globally, in the future. We present data informed propositions about invasive species management and governance, and suggest that this study contributes to a better understanding of how institutions mediate invasive plant removal efforts."
The Vulnerability of Polycentricity: The Case Study of Fracking Governance in Pennsylvania
(2019) Laurens, Emma; York, Abigail; Arnold, Gwen
"Polycentric governance is often hailed for its ability to increase stakeholder participation, encourage political innovation and produce more sustainable outcomes when compared to traditional, hierarchical governing systems (Aligica & Tarko, 2012; E. Ostrom, 2001, 2010). While this type of governance may internalize externalities by expanding governance boundaries, polycentricism is criticized for bureaucratic inefficiencies and increased complexity (Aligica & Tarko, 2012). The conversation surrounding appropriate government systems must include discussion of rules and political values in addition to questions of efficiency (Aligica & Tarko, 2012). Using Pennsylvania’s natural gas development as a case study, we explore the positive and negative aspects of polycentric governance. Pennsylvania is an interesting case study of polycentricity due to the state’s unique approach to natural gas industry taxation and a patchwork of stakeholders competing for influence (Christopherson & Rightor, 2012). The lack of empirical work on the impacts of polycentric governance on different community development strategies in general and within the energy infrastructure space in particular (Goldthau, 2014), allows for the development of evaluation tools for energy governance."