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Master's Theses

2015

Tanzania

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Unintended Consequences Of Enforcement In A Fisheries Institution: Results From An Artefactual Experiment In Tanzania, Spencer Maccoll May 2015

Unintended Consequences Of Enforcement In A Fisheries Institution: Results From An Artefactual Experiment In Tanzania, Spencer Maccoll

Master's Theses

Overfishing and the destruction of fishing commons in developing countries is a growing problem. Policymakers and local community leaders are looking for solutions to keep their fishing commons sustainable. Fines and enforcement mechanisms are commonly suggested to help preserve the commons. This paper discusses a novel artefactual experiment conducted throughout several fishing communities in Tanzania to determine the effect of enforcing a ban on illegal fishing gear on fishing behavior. Results indicate that the fishers in the enforcement treatment group depleted the fish stock significantly faster than the unenforced control group. One possible explanation for this result is that the …


Does Poverty Really Impede Cognitive Function? Experimental Evidence From Tanzanian Fishers, Virginia Graves May 2015

Does Poverty Really Impede Cognitive Function? Experimental Evidence From Tanzanian Fishers, Virginia Graves

Master's Theses

Does the feeling of scarcity really impede cognitive function? Using experimental evidence from Tanzanian fishers, this study examines the connection between poverty and cognitive function. Fishers in the experiment are tested on how exposure to a ‘scarcity trigger’ impacts cognition and productivity through measuring performance on problem solving tasks. The study also creates an index of distractions to test how existing problems in an individual’s life, which contribute to limited attention, relates to cognitive function and productivity. Experimental results do not find that mental and financial scarcities significantly impact test performance. Although the study finds no significant causal evidence, this …