Payments for ecosystem services: durable habits, dubious nudges, and doubtful efficacy

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) have become a popular approach to bring about improved environmental behaviors. When such programs are launched in developing countries, an additional benefit is that they are said to improve incomes for the poor. In this paper, we argue that PES schemes are not...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of institutional economics 2014-06, Vol.10 (2), p.175-195
Main Authors: HIEDANPÄÄ, JUHA, BROMLEY, DANIEL W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural production
Analysis
Beneficiaries
Compensation
Developing countries
Economic policy
Economic theory
Ecosystems
Efficient markets
Emission standards
Environmental policy
Environmental protection
Environmental stewardship
Habits
LDCs
Low income groups
NGOs
Nongovernmental organizations
Pollutants
Pollution
Purchasing
Rural areas
Social responsibility
Studies
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:Payments for ecosystem services (PES) have become a popular approach to bring about improved environmental behaviors. When such programs are launched in developing countries, an additional benefit is that they are said to improve incomes for the poor. In this paper, we argue that PES schemes are not ‘market-based’. Indeed, they are not even ‘market-like’. The incentive properties said to be present in such programs are of doubtful efficacy. We suggest that PES schemes are instances of a new class of transaction – the inducing transaction – whose purpose is to make certain resource users the instruments of the desires of others. We relate the success of PES schemes to Veblenian ‘habituation’ and Peircean ‘habit breaking and habit taking’ to suggest that PES schemes face a daunting challenge if they are to bring about durable behavioral changes.
ISSN:1744-1374
1744-1382
DOI:10.1017/S1744137413000428