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The importance of Ostrom’s Design Principles: Youth group performance in northern Ethiopia

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  • Holden, Stein T.
  • Tilahun, Mesfin

Abstract

Youth unemployment and migration are growing challenges that need more political attention in many countries, particularly countries with rapid population growth and economic transformation. Proactively mobilizing the youth as a resource in the creation of sustainable livelihoods can potentially be a win-win-win solution that Ethiopia is currently attempting. The new youth employment strategy includes allocation of rehabilitated communal lands to youth groups. This study investigates the extent to which Ostrom’s Design Principles (DPs) are followed and matter for the early performance of youth groups in terms of their stability, trust and overall performance. Data from a census of 742 youth groups in five districts in Tigray in northern Ethiopia is used. This study utilizes econometric methods to assess correlations between the DPs and a range of early performance indicators. The study contributes to the limited literature on local collective action utilizing large samples. We find a high degree of compliance with the DPs. Some of the DPs appeared more important for early performance of the youth groups. The Ethiopian youth group approach to mobilize landless and unemployed youth is promising and should be tested elsewhere. Further longitudinal research is needed on the Ethiopian model as it is still at an early stage of testing as most groups are less than five years old.

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  • Holden, Stein T. & Tilahun, Mesfin, 2018. "The importance of Ostrom’s Design Principles: Youth group performance in northern Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 10-30.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:104:y:2018:i:c:p:10-30
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.11.010
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    Cited by:

    1. Holden, Stein T. & Tilahun, Mesfin, 2023. "Numeracy Skills, Decision Errors, and Risk Preference Estimation," CLTS Working Papers 5/23, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Land Tenure Studies.
    2. Takahashi, Ryo & Otsuka, Keijiro & Tilahun, Mesfin & Birhane, Emiru & Holden, Stein, 2024. "Beyond Ostrom: Randomized experiment of the impact of individualized tree rights on forest management in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    3. Holden, Stein T. & Tilahun, Mesfin, 2021. "Mobile phones, leadership and gender in rural business groups," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    4. Holden, Stein T. & Tilahun, Mesfin, 2018. "Land rental as a complementary income source for land-poor youth," CLTS Working Papers 6/18, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Land Tenure Studies, revised 16 Oct 2019.
    5. Stein T Holden & Mesfin Tilahun, 2021. "Preferences, trust, and performance in youth business groups," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(9), pages 1-28, September.
    6. Holden, Stein T,, 2017. "Policies for Improved Food Security: - The Roles of Land Tenure Policies and Land Markets," CLTS Working Papers 9/17, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Land Tenure Studies, revised 21 Oct 2019.
    7. Holden, Stein T. & Tilahun, Mesfin, 2021. "Are land-poor youth accessing rented land? Evidence from northern Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    8. Oniki, Shunji & Berhe, Melaku & Negash, Teklay & Etsay, Haftu, 2023. "Do economic incentives crowd out motivation for communal land conservation in Ethiopia?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    9. Holden , Stein T. & Tilahun , Mesfin, 2018. "Gender Differences in Risk Tolerance, Trust and Trustworthiness: Are They Related?," CLTS Working Papers 3/18, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Land Tenure Studies, revised 16 Oct 2019.
    10. Holden, Stein T. & Tilahun, Mesfin, 2019. "How Do Social Preferences and Norms of Reciprocity affect Generalized and Particularized Trust?," CLTS Working Papers 8/19, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Land Tenure Studies, revised 10 Oct 2019.
    11. Rosegrant, Mark W. & Fan, Shenggen & Otsuka, Keijiro, 2021. "Global issues in agricultural development," IFPRI book chapters, in: Agricultural development: New perspectives in a changing world, chapter 2, pages 35-78, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    12. Tingyu Li & Bo Liu & Shuhao Tan, 2022. "Can Social Capital Help the Youngers Rent Land?—A Case of Pastoral Areas in Inner Mongolia, P.R. China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-15, October.
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    14. Holden, Stein T. & Tilahun, Mesfin, 2021. "How are social preferences of youth related to their motivation to invest in environmental conservation (local public goods)?," CLTS Working Papers 3/21, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Land Tenure Studies.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Youth; Youth groups; Primary cooperatives; Common pool resource management; Group performance; Ethiopia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry

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