Transaction Costs, Collective Action and Survival of Heterogeneous Co-management Institutions: Case Study of Forest Management Organisations in West Bengal, India

Abstract

Abstract Cost-effective natural resource management is important for equity and efficiency. Yet transaction costs of cooperation may pose a challenge to heterogeneous co-management institutions. We conducted a survey in seven Forest Protection Committees of West Bengal, India to examine this hypothesis empirically. We find that: (1) among several factors, caste heterogeneity, distance to forest, political heterogeneity, land inequality and trust systematically influence transaction costs and collective action; and (2) robust institutions bear less costs of cooperation. The implication is that transaction costs related to heterogeneity may exert significant influence on successes or failures of co-management.