Community, collective action and common grazing: The case of post-socialist Mongolia

This article applies collective-action and transaction-cost theory to the theoretical debate around the management of common property regimes (CPRs), with supporting evidence from recent empirical research in Mongolian pastoralism. Rather than treating CPR management as an activity in isolation, as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of development studies 1996-02, Vol.32 (3), p.297-339
Main Author: Mearns, Robin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural Collectives
Collective Action
Collective property
Common Lands
Community
Cooperation
Development economics
Economic reform
Enforcement
Forestry
Land Use
Mongolia
Natural resource management
Natural resources
Pastoral Societies
Politics
Post-communist societies
Postcommunist Societies
Property
Resource Management
Social order
Sustainable development
Theory
Transaction costs
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Summary:This article applies collective-action and transaction-cost theory to the theoretical debate around the management of common property regimes (CPRs), with supporting evidence from recent empirical research in Mongolian pastoralism. Rather than treating CPR management as an activity in isolation, as much of the existing literature tends to do, this study examines the use of common grazing in the context of other aspects of pastoral livelihoods. The more a given group of herders find reason to co-operate with each other across a range of activities, it is argued, the more likely it is that they will also overcome the transaction costs involved in controlling the use of the commons. The empirical analysis finds that incentives for cooperation were weakened under agricultural collectivisation (1950s-1980s), with possible adverse consequences for the commons. Decollectivisation from the early 1990s has seen the re-emergence of autonomous co-operation among herders, accompanied by changes in intra-community dynamics, which together suggest contradictory trends for the future management of common grazing.
ISSN:0022-0388
1743-9140
DOI:10.1080/00220389608422418