Applying a Voluntary Incentive Mechanism to the Problem of Groundwater Conservation: An Experimental Approach

This paper uses experimental methods to examine how individuals react to a set of voluntary incentives related to the conservation of a resource. The goal was to determine whether conservation over a critical area, such as a deep portion of an aquifer, could be encouraged, and whether coordination between individuals could be induced. Participants were faced with a bidding process through which units were selected for conservation, and some participants were offered an agglomeration bonus for conserving units that shared a border. Examining how bids changed across rounds revealed the existence of a learning process; implying that a similar real-world program would need to provide a large amount of information up front in order to achieve the desired effect. Using a monetary selection constraint resulted in more units placed in conservation. The bonus did not necessarily encourage conservation at the critical area, but it did reduce participant’s bid amounts.