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Why do Foresters Plant Trees? Testing Theories of Bureaucratic Decision-Making in Central India

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  • Fleischman, Forrest D.

Abstract

There is growing awareness of the problems of applying blueprint approaches to public sector management in developing countries, however scholars lack tools for context-specific policy advice. This paper develops an organitoring focuses on the short-term sizing framework for theories of bureaucratic action, and applies this theory to Indian forest departments’ tree-planting programs. Tree planting is implemented successfully in the central Indian regions of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh states, but does not protect ecosystems or reduce poverty. This partial success is driven by interplay between the self-regarding behavior of bureaucrats and a professional logic of appropriateness, and is a challenge to single-issue reformers.

Suggested Citation

  • Fleischman, Forrest D., 2014. "Why do Foresters Plant Trees? Testing Theories of Bureaucratic Decision-Making in Central India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 62-74.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:62:y:2014:i:c:p:62-74
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.05.008
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    1. García-López, Gustavo A., 2019. "Rethinking elite persistence in neoliberalism: Foresters and techno-bureaucratic logics in Mexico’s community forestry," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 169-181.
    2. Wim Carton & Adeniyi Asiyanbi & Silke Beck & Holly J. Buck & Jens F. Lund, 2020. "Negative emissions and the long history of carbon removal," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(6), November.
    3. Lund, Jens Friis, 2015. "Paradoxes of participation: The logic of professionalization in participatory forestry," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1-6.
    4. Shivani Agarwal & Harini Nagendra & Rucha Ghate, 2016. "The Influence of Forest Management Regimes on Deforestation in a Central Indian Dry Deciduous Forest Landscape," Land, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-16, August.
    5. Yitbarek, Tibebe Weldesemaet & Wilson, John R.U. & Dehnen-Schmutz, Katharina, 2023. "A governance framework for the design and evaluation of tree planting schemes," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    6. Valeria Biffi Isla, 2022. "Community‐level bureaucrats conserving the Peruvian Amazon," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(1), pages 44-54, February.
    7. Rana, Pushpendra & Fleischman, Forrest & Ramprasad, Vijay & Lee, Kangjae, 2022. "Predicting wasteful spending in tree planting programs in Indian Himalaya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

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