Collaborative Research: Technological Shocks and Institutional Effectiveness under Heterogeneous Risk

长期以来，学者们一直对治理制度与公共资源可持续性之间的联系感兴趣，其中石油和天然气是典型的例子。促进有效集体行动的机构往往被视为解决公地悲剧的最佳希望，而机构的长期存在往往被视为最好的情况。然而，长期存在的制度将参与者锁定在一条特定的道路上，当外部变化发生时，这条道路可能有效，也可能无效。本项目扩展了心肺复苏术学者的知识传统，研究了今天解决困境的方法如何加剧明天不同的心肺复苏术困境。这些机构的问题不一定是资源崩溃的可能性（即，公地悲剧），而是在面临重大变化的情况下继续采取行动。在集体行动对群体而言不再有效或公平很久之后，CPR治理机构仍可继续用于促进集体行动。以前稳定而高效的机构，现在可能具有将租金从最不容易受到外部冲击带来的新风险的人，重新分配给最脆弱的人的作用。本研究考察了美国油气生产和监管的变化含义。现有法规在管理高容量水力压裂（HVHF）（俗称“水力压裂”）风险方面的效果如何？HVHF是一种从页岩地层开采石油和天然气的技术，已经彻底改变了国内的能源格局。在美国，各州是石油和天然气生产的主要监管机构，因此在使用的法规类型和有效性方面存在差异。这些法规大多是在20世纪初至中期制定的，旨在管理常规油气生产。鉴于HVHF在全国范围内的快速扩张，本研究探讨了这些法规和HVHF生产技术的影响。该项目首先开发了一个跨州管理油气生产法规的数据库，该数据库将在线提供给公众、州监管机构、记者和学者，以探索不同州如何管理油气生产以及这些法规的有效性。其次，该项目让土地所有者参与焦点小组，以更好地了解受高频热潮积极和消极影响的人们的观点。第三，该项目使用一系列实验室经济实验，在受控环境下，促进学术理解不同法规如何激励个人决定是否签署租约以允许石油和天然气生产。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Scholars have long been interested in the linkages between governance institutions and the sustainability of common-pool resources (CPRs), of which oil and gas are canonical examples. Institutions that facilitate efficient collective action are often seen as the best hope for a solution to the tragedy of the commons, and the long endurance of institutions is often viewed as a best-case scenario. Long-enduring institutions, however, lock participants in to a particular path that may or may not be efficient when exogenous changes occur. This project expands on the intellectual tradition of CPR scholars by examining how a solution to a dilemma today can exacerbate a different CPR dilemma tomorrow. The problem with such institutions is not necessarily the possibility of resource collapse (i.e., a tragedy of the commons), but rather of continued action in the face of substantially changed circumstances. CPR governance institutions can continue to be used to facilitate collective action long after collective action ceases to be efficient or equitable for the group. Previously stable and efficient institutions may now have the effect of redistributing rents from those who are least vulnerable to the new risks introduced by an exogenous shock to those who are most vulnerable. This research examines the changing implications of oil and gas production and regulation in the United States. How effective are existing regulations at managing the risks from high volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF), commonly known as "fracking?" HVHF is a technique for producing oil and gas from shale formations that has revolutionized the domestic energy landscape. In the U.S., states are the primary regulators of oil and gas production, so there is variation in the types of and effectiveness of regulations in-use. Many of these regulations were enacted in the early-to-mid 1900s and were designed to manage conventional oil and gas production. Given the rapid expansion of HVHF across the country, this research explores the effects of these regulations and HVHF production techniques. The project first develops a cross-state database of current regulations used to manage oil and gas production, which will be available online for the public, state regulators, journalists, and academics to explore how different states manage oil and gas production and how effective those regulations are. Second, the project engages landowners in focus groups to better understand the perspectives of people impacted, both positively and negatively, by the HVHF boom. Third, the project uses a series of laboratory economic experiments to advance scholarly understanding, in a controlled setting, of how different regulations incentivize individual decisions whether to sign leases to allow oil and gas production.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.