Sharing common resources in patriarchal and status based societies: Evidence from Tanzania

Lecoutere, Els, D'Exelle, Ben ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9332-5223 and Van Campenhout, Bjorn (2015) Sharing common resources in patriarchal and status based societies: Evidence from Tanzania. Feminist Economics, 21 (3 Special Issue: Engendering Economic Policy in Africa). pp. 142-167. ISSN 1354-5701

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Abstract

In rural African societies, socioeconomic differentiation linked to gender and social status exerts an important influence on the distribution of common-pool resources. Through a behavioral experiment conducted in 2008 in rural Tanzania, this contribution examines the influence of gender and social status on distribution behavior of users of self-governed common watersheds. It finds that men and women with low social status distribute water equally when water is abundant but keep larger shares when water is scarce, although low-status women try to be as fair as possible at the expense of their returns from irrigated agriculture. Men of high social status keep more than half of the available water for themselves, both in abundance and scarcity, and deprive others from sizeable returns from irrigated agriculture. Women of high social status share altruistically when water is abundant and equally when water is scarce, giving up on returns from irrigated agriculture.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: gender,social status,sharing,common-pool resources,rural sub-saharan africa
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Global Development (formerly School of International Development)
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Social Sciences
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Experimental Economics (former - to 2017)
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Gender and Development
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Impact Evaluation
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Behavioural Economics
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Environment, Resources and Conflict
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Behavioural and Experimental Development Economics
Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 14 Jul 2014 09:44
Last Modified: 04 Mar 2024 16:54
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/49562
DOI: 10.1080/13545701.2015.1024274

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