Heterogeneity, Commons and Privitization: Agrarian Institutional Change in Goa

In the debate on resource management, asset re-distribution and privatization of commons have emerged as contentious issues. This paper uses a case study in Goa to examine whether tenure security and asset re-distribution can lead to environmentally sustainable outcomes. The paper concludes that when public policy involves institutional transition, there may be tradeoffs involved between equity and sustainability. Institutional change can affect social networks by triggering exit of agents who previously managed land. Due to lack of prior history of cooperation among the new resource owners, the new equilibrium may shift to a non-cooperative regime that might be unsustainable in the long run.