Authors
Mauricio Romero, Santiago Saavedra
Publication date
2021/6/3
Journal
The Journal of Development Studies
Volume
57
Issue
6
Pages
1038-1052
Publisher
Routledge
Description
Almost a third of the world’s forest area is communally managed. In principle, this arrangement could lead to a ‘tragedy of the commons’ and therefore more deforestation. But it may be easier to monitor outsiders’ deforestation of land owned by a community rather than an individual. We present a theoretical framework to examine these trade-offs and empirically study the effect of communal titling on deforestation in Colombia. Our empirical approach uses a differences-in-discontinuities strategy that compares areas just outside and inside a title, before and after titling. We find that deforestation decreased in communal areas after titling, especially in small communities, which is consistent with the model’s predictions. We also find evidence of positive spillovers: titling reduced deforestation in nearby areas outside the title (and thus our estimates are a lower bound of the total effects of communal titling on deforestation).
Total citations
201920202021202220232024122322
Scholar articles
M Romero, S Saavedra - The Journal of Development Studies, 2021