This paper focuses on contract design to improve the incentive structure of current coordination mechanisms related to sustainable land use management in the Ethiopian highlands. The main objective is to assess whether, and if so under which terms and conditions, rural households are willing to...

Decentralization of irrigation management is claimed to improve performance by enhancing legitimacy and, thus, increasing cooperation. We test this hypothesis by collecting information about water users’ legitimacy perceptions and assessing the impact of these perceptions on irrigation charge...