J M Kerr
Biographic Data
| ID | 30212 |
|---|---|
| NAME | J M Kerr |
| GIVEN NAMES | J M |
| FAMILY NAME | Kerr |
| SIGNATURE | KERR J M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Michigan State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0449-5448 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 30 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 176 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 30 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1944 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Social Norms for Illegal Hunting and Patrolling to Prevent It
Community-driven initiatives aimed at curbing wild animal poaching can effectively mitigate species decline, tailor programs to community needs, and align with community members’ preferences. This paper reports on formative data framed within the financial incentives in normative systems (FINS) model. Through in-depth interviews with ethnically Tibetan pastoralists, we find evidence for anti-poaching descriptive and injunctive norms, along with n…
Waste governance and campus sustainability
Purpose Football tailgating is a focus of campus sustainability in the United States because it produces large amounts of waste. In states where recyclables can be redeemed for cash, this waste also is a resource for earning income. University officials face the challenge of encouraging proper waste disposal, cleaning up efficiently and coexisting productively with income-earning recyclers. This paper aims to understand how bridging formal and in…
Culture and Social Norms
Studies of social norms are common in the communication literature and are increasingly focused on cultural dynamics: studying co-cultural groups within national boundaries or comparing countries. Based on the review of the status quo in cross-cultural measurement development and our years of experience in conducting this research among a co-cultural group, this paper describes a Model for Culturally Contextualized Communication Measurement (MC 3…
Perception and adaptation to higher temperatures among poultry farmers in Nigeria
Culture and social norms
Conceptions of what is typical (descriptive norms) and socially appropriate (injunctive norms) are constrained by culture. Based on interviews with Tibetan pastoralists in Western China, we examine social norms and behaviors associated with managing domesticated animals. We describe the ways that behavioral decisions are influenced by interpersonal communication and observation of norms, along with ecological, market, and policy forces. Explicit …
Introducing an aflatoxin-safe labeling program in complex food supply chains
Characterizing Interpersonal Influence for Grassland Conservation Behaviours in a Unique Population
Interpersonal communication can influence the decisions people make about engaging in conservation behaviours. In-depth interviews with Tibetan pastoralists serve as the basis for examining interpersonal communication patterns and sources of interpersonal influence about grassland conservation behaviours. Herding and family groups are key collectives; salient sources of information vary across types of information. Salient individuals are those w…
The effects of social norms on motivation crowding
Literature on motivation crowding of financial incentives points to a potential role of social norms, but this literature has not attempted to quantify that role. We present an interdisciplinary model from economics and communication science that measures the effects of financial incentives on social norms and their joint effects on behavior, including after incentives have ended. In a framed field experiment with Tibetan herders in Qinghai, Chin…
Social Norms, Behavioral Payment Programs, and Cooperative Behaviors
Descriptive and injunctive social norms communicated among groups are known to influence behavior, yet little is known about how they evolve over time and how financial incentives influence norms. This article tests hypotheses about the ways in which monetary incentives can disrupt normative impact while facilitating cooperative behavior. The results of a public goods experiment indicate that the presence of a financial incentive for behavior can…
Sociocultural and institutional contexts of social cash transfer programs
As conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs spread in African countries, there is a need for well-designed programs that reflect their economic, institutional, political, and sociocultural circumstances. Using both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, this article examines the perspectives of beneficiaries, program managers, and community leaders regarding Ghana’s CCT program. It addresses sociocultural attitudes toward poverty, perception…
Is Food and Drug Administration policy governing artisan cheese consistent with consumers’ preferences
Incentives, conditionality and collective action in payment for environmental services
As payment for environmental services (PES) initiatives spread to collectively managed natural resources, questions arise because the incentive structures that might be appropriate for individually managed resources will not necessarily promote the collective action required to manage the commons. Theory suggests challenges for cash payments to promote collective action, and for alternative payment types to facilitate conditionality. Possible way…
Incentives, conditionality and collective action in payment for environmental services
As payment for environmental services (PES) initiatives spread to collectively managed natural resources, questions arise because the incentive structures that might be appropriate for individually managed resources will not necessarily promote the collective action required to manage the commons. Theory suggests challenges for cash payments to promote collective action, and for alternative payment types to facilitate conditionality. Possible way…
Decentralisation and democratic forest reforms in India
Combining participatory crop trials and experimental auctions to estimate farmer preferences for improved common bean in Rwanda
Urban agriculture, social capital, and food security in the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Kenya
Territorialisation and marginalisation in the forested landscapes of Orissa, India
Prosocial behavior and incentives
Reducing Poverty Through Carbon Forestry? Impacts of the N’hambita Community Carbon Project in Mozambique
Democratic Assertions
Inclusion of marginalized sections and minorities remains one of the most vexing problems for democratic politics. This article discusses the enactment of a recent Indian law, 'The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act, 2006', as exemplifying the possibilities of inclusion of marginalized groups in democratic processes. The law was enacted in response to a nationwide mobilization of marginalized forest…
Forestry‐based carbon sequestration projects in Africa
Carbon sequestration through forestry and agroforestry can help mitigate global warming. For Africa, carbon sequestration also represents an opportunity to fund sustainable development through financial inflows. However, with a low share of global carbon trade, there are strong concerns that African countries are losing out on this valuable opportunity. Through a comprehensive review of 23 carbon sequestration projects across 14 countries, this p…
Managing Watershed Externalities in India
Barriers Beyond the Partners
Watershed Management
Watershed development is an important component of rural development and natural resource management strategies in many countries. A watershed is a special kind of common pool resource: an area defined by hydrological linkages where optimal management requires coordinated use of natural resources by all users. Management is difficult because natural resources comprising the watershed system have multiple, conflicting uses, so any given management…
Watershed Management
The International Journal of the Commons is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed open-access journal, dedicated to furthering the understanding of institutions for use and management of resources that are (or could be) enjoyed collectively.These resources may be part of the natural world (e.g. forests, climate systems, or the oceans) or they may be created (e.g. infrastructures such as irrigation systems, the internet or (scientific) knowledge, for…
Democratic Assertions
Inclusion of marginalized sections and minorities remains one of the most vexing problems for democratic politics. This article discusses the enactment of a recent Indian law, 'The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act, 2006', as exemplifying the possibilities of inclusion of marginalized groups in democratic processes. The law was enacted in response to a nationwide mobilization of marginalized forest…
Watershed Development, Environmental Services, and Poverty Alleviation in India
Decentralisation and democratic forest reforms in India
Reducing Poverty Through Carbon Forestry? Impacts of the N’hambita Community Carbon Project in Mozambique
Urban agriculture, social capital, and food security in the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Kenya
Watershed Management
The International Journal of the Commons is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed open-access journal, dedicated to furthering the understanding of institutions for use and management of resources that are (or could be) enjoyed collectively.These resources may be part of the natural world (e.g. forests, climate systems, or the oceans) or they may be created (e.g. infrastructures such as irrigation systems, the internet or (scientific) knowledge, for…
Incentives, conditionality and collective action in payment for environmental services
As payment for environmental services (PES) initiatives spread to collectively managed natural resources, questions arise because the incentive structures that might be appropriate for individually managed resources will not necessarily promote the collective action required to manage the commons. Theory suggests challenges for cash payments to promote collective action, and for alternative payment types to facilitate conditionality. Possible way…
Territorialisation and marginalisation in the forested landscapes of Orissa, India
Social Norms, Behavioral Payment Programs, and Cooperative Behaviors
Descriptive and injunctive social norms communicated among groups are known to influence behavior, yet little is known about how they evolve over time and how financial incentives influence norms. This article tests hypotheses about the ways in which monetary incentives can disrupt normative impact while facilitating cooperative behavior. The results of a public goods experiment indicate that the presence of a financial incentive for behavior can…
Combining participatory crop trials and experimental auctions to estimate farmer preferences for improved common bean in Rwanda
The effects of social norms on motivation crowding
Literature on motivation crowding of financial incentives points to a potential role of social norms, but this literature has not attempted to quantify that role. We present an interdisciplinary model from economics and communication science that measures the effects of financial incentives on social norms and their joint effects on behavior, including after incentives have ended. In a framed field experiment with Tibetan herders in Qinghai, Chin…
Scaling up Participatory Watershed Development in India
Participation' is widely accepted as a prerequisite to successful watershed development in India, but there is no shared understanding of its meaning, nor of how to make it operational. Meaningful participation, in which communities work collectively, help make decisions and share costs, is limited primarily to projects implemented by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Participation in government projects is more superficial because staff lac…
Sociocultural and institutional contexts of social cash transfer programs
As conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs spread in African countries, there is a need for well-designed programs that reflect their economic, institutional, political, and sociocultural circumstances. Using both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, this article examines the perspectives of beneficiaries, program managers, and community leaders regarding Ghana’s CCT program. It addresses sociocultural attitudes toward poverty, perception…
Agency Perspectives on Transition to Participatory Forest Management
India's Joint Forest Management (JFM) policy, in which government forest agencies and local communities jointly manage forests, has been touted as a successful strategy in helping both forests and people. Its efficacy in the field, however, is uneven. Although government forest departments are charged with implementing JFM, very little is known about their perspectives on this policy. Assessment of foresters' perspectives on JFM in Tamil Nadu, In…
Culture and social norms
Conceptions of what is typical (descriptive norms) and socially appropriate (injunctive norms) are constrained by culture. Based on interviews with Tibetan pastoralists in Western China, we examine social norms and behaviors associated with managing domesticated animals. We describe the ways that behavioral decisions are influenced by interpersonal communication and observation of norms, along with ecological, market, and policy forces. Explicit …
Is Food and Drug Administration policy governing artisan cheese consistent with consumers’ preferences
Mary Harvey - the Lady Dering
Institutional barriers to policy reform in Egypt
Watershed Development, Environmental Services, and Poverty Alleviation in India
Scaling up Participatory Watershed Development in India
Participation' is widely accepted as a prerequisite to successful watershed development in India, but there is no shared understanding of its meaning, nor of how to make it operational. Meaningful participation, in which communities work collectively, help make decisions and share costs, is limited primarily to projects implemented by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Participation in government projects is more superficial because staff lac…
Agency Perspectives on Transition to Participatory Forest Management
India's Joint Forest Management (JFM) policy, in which government forest agencies and local communities jointly manage forests, has been touted as a successful strategy in helping both forests and people. Its efficacy in the field, however, is uneven. Although government forest departments are charged with implementing JFM, very little is known about their perspectives on this policy. Assessment of foresters' perspectives on JFM in Tamil Nadu, In…
Managing Watershed Externalities in India
Barriers Beyond the Partners
Watershed Management
Watershed development is an important component of rural development and natural resource management strategies in many countries. A watershed is a special kind of common pool resource: an area defined by hydrological linkages where optimal management requires coordinated use of natural resources by all users. Management is difficult because natural resources comprising the watershed system have multiple, conflicting uses, so any given management…
Watershed Management
The International Journal of the Commons is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed open-access journal, dedicated to furthering the understanding of institutions for use and management of resources that are (or could be) enjoyed collectively.These resources may be part of the natural world (e.g. forests, climate systems, or the oceans) or they may be created (e.g. infrastructures such as irrigation systems, the internet or (scientific) knowledge, for…
Forestry‐based carbon sequestration projects in Africa
Carbon sequestration through forestry and agroforestry can help mitigate global warming. For Africa, carbon sequestration also represents an opportunity to fund sustainable development through financial inflows. However, with a low share of global carbon trade, there are strong concerns that African countries are losing out on this valuable opportunity. Through a comprehensive review of 23 carbon sequestration projects across 14 countries, this p…
Prosocial behavior and incentives
Reducing Poverty Through Carbon Forestry? Impacts of the N’hambita Community Carbon Project in Mozambique
Democratic Assertions
Inclusion of marginalized sections and minorities remains one of the most vexing problems for democratic politics. This article discusses the enactment of a recent Indian law, 'The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act, 2006', as exemplifying the possibilities of inclusion of marginalized groups in democratic processes. The law was enacted in response to a nationwide mobilization of marginalized forest…
Urban agriculture, social capital, and food security in the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Kenya
Territorialisation and marginalisation in the forested landscapes of Orissa, India
Incentives, conditionality and collective action in payment for environmental services
As payment for environmental services (PES) initiatives spread to collectively managed natural resources, questions arise because the incentive structures that might be appropriate for individually managed resources will not necessarily promote the collective action required to manage the commons. Theory suggests challenges for cash payments to promote collective action, and for alternative payment types to facilitate conditionality. Possible way…
Incentives, conditionality and collective action in payment for environmental services
As payment for environmental services (PES) initiatives spread to collectively managed natural resources, questions arise because the incentive structures that might be appropriate for individually managed resources will not necessarily promote the collective action required to manage the commons. Theory suggests challenges for cash payments to promote collective action, and for alternative payment types to facilitate conditionality. Possible way…
Decentralisation and democratic forest reforms in India
Combining participatory crop trials and experimental auctions to estimate farmer preferences for improved common bean in Rwanda
Sociocultural and institutional contexts of social cash transfer programs
As conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs spread in African countries, there is a need for well-designed programs that reflect their economic, institutional, political, and sociocultural circumstances. Using both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, this article examines the perspectives of beneficiaries, program managers, and community leaders regarding Ghana’s CCT program. It addresses sociocultural attitudes toward poverty, perception…
Is Food and Drug Administration policy governing artisan cheese consistent with consumers’ preferences
Social Norms, Behavioral Payment Programs, and Cooperative Behaviors
Descriptive and injunctive social norms communicated among groups are known to influence behavior, yet little is known about how they evolve over time and how financial incentives influence norms. This article tests hypotheses about the ways in which monetary incentives can disrupt normative impact while facilitating cooperative behavior. The results of a public goods experiment indicate that the presence of a financial incentive for behavior can…
Characterizing Interpersonal Influence for Grassland Conservation Behaviours in a Unique Population
Interpersonal communication can influence the decisions people make about engaging in conservation behaviours. In-depth interviews with Tibetan pastoralists serve as the basis for examining interpersonal communication patterns and sources of interpersonal influence about grassland conservation behaviours. Herding and family groups are key collectives; salient sources of information vary across types of information. Salient individuals are those w…
The effects of social norms on motivation crowding
Literature on motivation crowding of financial incentives points to a potential role of social norms, but this literature has not attempted to quantify that role. We present an interdisciplinary model from economics and communication science that measures the effects of financial incentives on social norms and their joint effects on behavior, including after incentives have ended. In a framed field experiment with Tibetan herders in Qinghai, Chin…
Culture and social norms
Conceptions of what is typical (descriptive norms) and socially appropriate (injunctive norms) are constrained by culture. Based on interviews with Tibetan pastoralists in Western China, we examine social norms and behaviors associated with managing domesticated animals. We describe the ways that behavioral decisions are influenced by interpersonal communication and observation of norms, along with ecological, market, and policy forces. Explicit …
Business (23 works) · Economics (23 works) · Political science (20 works) · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management (13 works) · Geography (12 works) · Economic growth (9 works) · Finance (9 works) · Politics (9 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Sociology (8 works)