A research article by Arun Agrawal, Ashwini Chhatre, and Elisabeth Gerber, "Motivational crowding in sustainable development interventions," was published in the August 2015 edition of American Political Science Review.
Abstract
We used a quasi-experimental research design to study the extent of motivational crowding in a recent sustainable development intervention in northern India. The project provided participants with both private and communal material benefits to enhance their incomes, and environmental and social information to inculcate pro-environmental motivations. We compared changes in reported motivations of participants for conserving forest resources, before and after project implementation, with changes in reported motivations of matched nonparticipants. We found that villagers who received private economic benefits were more likely to change from an environmental to an economic motivation for forest protection, whereas those who engaged in communal activities related to the project were less likely to change from an environmental to an economic motivation. These results, which indicate a substantial but conditional degree of motivational crowding, clarify the relationships between institutional change, incentives, and motivations and have important implications for the design of sustainable development interventions.
To learn more, read "Motivational crowding in sustainable development interventions," For questions, contact Elisabeth Gerber.