title: Time Preferences and Natural Resource Extraction Behavior: An Experimental Study from Artisanal Fisheries in Zanzibar.
abstract: Natural resource users face a trade-off between present and future consumption. Using harmful methods or extracting unsustainably, lowers future consumption. Therefore, it is reasonable to posit that people with higher time preferences extract more as compared to people with lower time preferences. The present study combines experimental methods and questionnaire data in order to understand the relationship between individual time preferences and fishers' extraction behavior. We elicit individual time preferences using an incentivized experiment, linking the resulting time preference measures to extraction data from a questionnaire, as well as data collected from a framed Common Pool Resource (CPR) experiment. Both the experiments and questionnaire were conducted with artisanal fishers in Zanzibar. Our findings suggest that the relationship between time preferences and CPR extraction is not as straightforward as predicted by classical economic theory. In contrast to earlier studies, we find that fishers' time preferences are negatively correlated to their extraction rates. Our surprising findings can partly be explained by the fact that higher time preferences are associated with lower investment in extraction capability (the disinvestment effect of time preferences), and by fishers´ cognitive abilities.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Umweltsystemforschung, Universität Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany.|Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany.|Leibniz center for Tropical Marine Ecology (Zmt), Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: Aneeque
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0453-2701
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Javaid
authors.affiliation: Leibniz center for Tropical Marine Ecology (Zmt), Bremen, Germany.|Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Micaela M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Kulesz
authors.affiliation: Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany.|Leibniz center for Tropical Marine Ecology (Zmt), Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: Achim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schlüter
authors.affiliation: Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany.|Leibniz center for Tropical Marine Ecology (Zmt), Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Marine Science, Dar-es-Salaam University, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Narriman S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Jiddawi
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D005398:Fisheries / Q000191:economics / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D000067936:Natural Resources / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013636:Tanzania; D013997:Time Factors