Many resource users are not involved in formulating and enforcement of resource management regulations in developing countries and do not generally accept such rules.

This thesis consists of six papers, related to artifactual field experiments, conducted in South Africa. The main focus of the thesis is the effect of different forms of heterogeneity on cooperation and punishment within groups.

We conduct public goods experiments where the first study draws on a sample of nine fishing communities in South Africa; the second is conducted in Cape Town amongst four high schools with distinctly different socio-economic profiles.

We investigate the importance of relative income within the Indian Caste system, using a choice experiment.

Controversy over the EU import ban on food from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) forced the EU to change course and institute a mandatory labeling scheme. This study first examined how different policies for the production and use of GMOs might influence the market outcome in consumer food markets. Second, it evaluated the welfare effects of the policy measures, finding that mandatory labeling often increases both domestic welfare and global welfare, while trade bans more likely decrease global welfare.

The effects of stake size on cooperation and punishment are investigated using a public goods experiment.

The effects of stake size on cooperation and punishment are investigated using a public goods experiment. We find that an increase in stake size does neither significantly affect cooperation nor the level of punishment.

Environmentalists are often upset at the effect of discounting costs of future environmental damage, e.g., due to climate change. An often-overlooked message is that we should discount costs but also take into account the increase in the relative price of the ecosystem service endangered.

This study focuses on a movement in methods of structuring that has been around for the past twenty years: socially responsible investing. The study focuses on France between 2001 and 2005 and a particular category of actors: asset managers who sell financial products presented as socially responsible on the French market.

This paper proposes that people derive utility not only from goods or their attributes as in standard models, but also from their self-image as influenced by their own perception of their preferences. In a representative survey, most respondents considered their own concern for status when purchasing a car to be minor in comparison with the status concerns of others.

We explore the effect of income inequality and peer punishment on voluntary provision of public goods in an experimental context. Our sample draws from nine fishing communities in South-Africa where high levels of inequality prevail.

Individuals’ preferences for risk and inequality are measured through choices between imagined societies and lotteries.