Collective action in the pastural area of Inner Mongolia, China: Evidence from a lab-in-the-field experiment

The degradation of grasslands is a pressing global issue. Extensive research has explored the implementation of collective action as a means to ensure the sustainable use of grassland resources. However, empirical analysis of its impact in the field is lacking. Therefore, we conducted a lab-in-the-field experiment to evaluate the intensity of herders’ participation in collective action and estimated its impact on grassland conservation and livestock production at herder household level. As a robustness check, we performed a principal component analysis to measure herders’ willingness to participate in collective action. The empirical results show that collective action has significant positive effects on grassland quality and livestock number. A mechanism analysis indicates that herders who are more actively engaged in collective action are more likely to adopt rotational grazing management practices, leading to better grassland quality and a higher number of livestock. A heterogeneity analysis reveals that the benefits of collective action on grassland conservation vary based on resource endowments and individual characteristics, including grassland area and social network. This study makes a significant contribution to the study of sustainable grassland management that promotes the coupling development of grassland protection and livestock production.