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Social traps and incentives: Implications for low-input, sustainable agriculture

Jeffery R. Williams
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation January 1990, 45 (1) 28-30;
Jeffery R. Williams
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Excerpt

RECENT attention concerning low-input, sustainable agriculture systems brings to the forefront concern that conventional agricultural production methods result in a “social trap.” The term refers to situations in which an individual or society starts in a direction or relationship that later proves to be unpleasant or lethal, with no easy way to change or avoid the situation (7, 10, 11). A social trap typically occurs when conflicts exist between highly motivating, short-run rewards and long-run consequences.1 A social trap also occurs when a personal reward or punishment conflicts with a group's goals. In this case an individual acts for his or her personal gain and in the process prevents the group from obtaining a reward or objective. In designing public policy to encourage sustainable agriculture, a major consideration is the tendency of individual behavior to be motivated more by immediate personal gain than by the long-run public interest—which leads to a social trap.

Current agricultural production methods may lead to social-trap problems. Producers use fertilizers and pesticides to increase short-run production levels and profits, with encouragement by current agricultural policies that attempt to maintain low food prices and …

Footnotes

  • Jeffery R. Williams is a professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, 66506. The author thanks Andy Barkley for comments on this article.

  • Copyright 1990 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

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Journal of Soil and Water Conservation: 45 (1)
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
Vol. 45, Issue 1
January/February 1990
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Social traps and incentives: Implications for low-input, sustainable agriculture
Jeffery R. Williams
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Jan 1990, 45 (1) 28-30;

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Social traps and incentives: Implications for low-input, sustainable agriculture
Jeffery R. Williams
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Jan 1990, 45 (1) 28-30;
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