@techreport{Theesfeld2001Constraints,
abstract = {Water for irrigation and irrigation infrastructure are both common pool resources, due to
their low excludability and high rivalry. The well-known common pool resource dilemma
is often the consequence. Collective action may be a way how societies can
overcome this dilemma. First results from a three-month empirical field study in Bulgaria
are presented trying to explain how actor groups characteristics, such as lack of
trust between community members and effective institutional settings at the local level,
such as information asymmetry, limited sanctioning and enforcement mechanisms and
almost no monitoring mechanisms provide conditions under which opportunistic behaviour
dominates. The effective rules-in-use in local communities are presented. The simplest
example is watering crops without paying the water price. Individuals will use
their power to maintain their opportunistic strategies and, consequently, they will not
agree to any rule change. Moreover, the actors` attitude towards collective action is very
pessimistic. This has a crucial impact on the evolving of credible commitment which is
one prerequisite for collective action. The effects on water management can be severe
and the common pool resource dilemma situation may continue. This article questions if
there are additional influencing variables inherited from the transformation process that
will have an impact on the institutional change and constrain the emergence of collective
action solutions. The discussion is based on empirical material from Varbiza village
in the south of Bulgaria.},
author = {Insa Theesfeld},
copyright = {http://www.econstor.eu/dspace/Nutzungsbedingungen},
keywords = {330; Bew\"{a}sserung; Allmenderessource; Bulgarien},
language = {eng},
number = {5},
title = {Constraints for collective action in Bulgaria\textasciiacute{}s irrigation sector},
type = {CEESA discussion paper / Humboldt-Universit\"{a}t Berlin, Department of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10419/22287},
year = {2001}
}
