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External validity of artefactual field experiments: A study on cooperation, impatience and sustainability in an artisanal fishery in Colombia

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  • Torres-Guevara, Luz Elba
  • Schlüter, Achim

Abstract

This paper contributes to the experimental analysis of sustainable behavior in artisanal fisheries and the external validity of economic experiments. We run a standard one-shot public goods experiment and two time preferences experiments with fishermen from Tasajera. It is a small fishing community located in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, which depends mainly on the fishery resources of the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta for its livelihood. To investigate the external validity of the experiments, we related the fishermen's individual decisions in the experiments to some indices measuring the ecological impact of fishing activities among the same group of fishermen. We found that fishermen's contributions to the public good and their levels of impatience are not robustly correlated to their real fishing behavior. We argue that the link between fishermen's behavior in the field experiments and real life could be associated to various factors, such as the specific context in which fishermen live, and the way in which cooperation in real life is measured.

Suggested Citation

  • Torres-Guevara, Luz Elba & Schlüter, Achim, 2016. "External validity of artefactual field experiments: A study on cooperation, impatience and sustainability in an artisanal fishery in Colombia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 187-201.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:128:y:2016:i:c:p:187-201
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.04.022
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    3. Loft, Lasse & Gehrig, Stefan & Le, Dung Ngoc & Rommel, Jens, 2019. "Effectiveness and equity of Payments for Ecosystem Services: Real-effort experiments with Vietnamese land users," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 218-228.
    4. Carina Cavalcanti, 2020. "On the Determinants of Denouncing Illegal Fishing: A Field Study in Artisanal Fishing Communities," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 77(1), pages 217-228, September.
    5. Luz Elba Torres-Guevara & Maria Claudia Lopez & Achim Schlüter, 2016. "Understanding Artisanal Fishers’ Behaviors: The Case of Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-17, June.
    6. Goeschl, Timo & Kettner, Sara Elisa & Lohse, Johannes & Schwieren, Christiane, 2020. "How much can we learn about voluntary climate action from behavior in public goods games?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    7. Appel, F. & Balmann, A., 2018. "Predator or prey? - Effects of fast-growing farms on their neighborhood," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277358, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Morone, Piergiuseppe & Caferra, Rocco & D'Adamo, Idiano & Falcone, Pasquale Marcello & Imbert, Enrica & Morone, Andrea, 2021. "Consumer willingness to pay for bio-based products: Do certifications matter?," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    9. Gallier, Carlo & Langbein, Jörg & Vance, Colin, 2018. "Non-binding Restrictions, Cooperation, and Coral Reef Protection: Experimental Evidence from Indonesian Fishing Communities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 62-71.
    10. Barr, Abigail & Owens, Trudy & Perera, Ashira, 2020. "Collective management of an environmental threat when exposure is heterogeneous – A complementary methods approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    11. Boonmanunt, Suparee & Lauer, Thomas & Rockenbach, Bettina & Weiss, Arne, 2020. "Field evidence on the role of time preferences in conservation behavior," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    12. Schill, Caroline & Rocha, Juan Carlos, 2023. "Sustaining local commons in the face of uncertain ecological thresholds: Evidence from a framed field experiment with Colombian small-scale fishers," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    13. Caleb M. Koch & Heinrich H. Nax, 2022. "Groundwater Usage and Strategic Complements: Part I (Instrumental Variables)," Games, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, October.
    14. Dougherty, John P. & Flatnes, Jon Einar & Gallenstein, Richard A. & Miranda, Mario J. & Sam, Abdoul G., 2020. "Climate change and index insurance demand: Evidence from a framed field experiment in Tanzania," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 155-184.
    15. Stefan Gehrig & Achim Schlüter & Peter Hammerstein, 2019. "Sociocultural heterogeneity in a common pool resource dilemma," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, January.

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