Interest-based Negotiation over Natural Resources: Experimental Evidence from Liberia

Abstract

We experimentally evaluate whether an interest-based negotiation (IBN) training for community leaders in Liberia improves their ability to strike beneficial deals related to their land and forests. We use environmental assessments, lab-in-the-field, and surveys and find that trainees are 27% more likely to reach a beneficial agreement, and when they conclude deals, their payoffs are 37% larger. Our exploration of mechanisms indicates that the training increases trainees’ capacity to identify valuable deals, but does not improve their appraisal of their outside option. We find a reduction (0.27 standard deviations) in the exploitation of communal forestland in treated communities.

Darin Christensen

Associate Professor of Public Policy & Political Science

Political scientist interested in conflict and development.