Economic analyses of user interactions in the coastal zone

Abstract

Marine and coastal areas contain many resource types, with many uses and user groups. Conflicts are common, both over access to the same resource, and to avoid negative effects of others’ use. Such conflicts are expected to increase in extent and severity. Being able to analyze and understand the nature and consequences of the interactions between different user groups, how it affects their behaviour in planning and other processes where resource allocation and rules of use are decided, as well as finding management schemes and instruments that can replace or complement the existing ones, to better deal with these conflicts, are important. This thesis contains attempts to do all of this, for specific situations. It includes a bioeconomic model to analyse three types of possible externalities of aquaculture on fisheries. We consider how asymmetric externalities of resource use can affect the behaviour of users in contests or bargaining over resource access, and how a regulator’s setup of these can affect outcomes. Schemes for tradable rights to coastal resources between user-groups, particularly their design and how to account for external effects on third-parties, are considered. This includes how power relations can be affected by the introduction of such schemes, and the further effect on institutional efficiency, influenced by the possibilities for power abuse and level of resources wasted on rent-seeking and lobbying.