Voodoo versus Fishing Committees: The Role of Traditional and Contemporary Institutions in Fisheries Management

73 Pages Posted: 15 Mar 2015

See all articles by Elena Briones Alonso

Elena Briones Alonso

KU Leuven - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance (LICOS)

Romain Houssa

CRED & CEREFIM, University of Namur

Marijke Verpoorten

University of Antwerp - Institute of Development Policy and Management; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - Center for Economic Studies

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: March 3, 2015

Abstract

We study the co-existence of two community-based institutions for fisheries management in Benin: a traditional institution embedded in the Voodoo religion and a recent secular institution in the form of fishing committees. Using household survey data on fishing activities, we find that rules of both institutions have a statistically significant but small impact on the use of unsustainable fishing gear. We further find that Voodoo fishers who break the traditional Voodoo-based rule follow the fishing committee rule to the same extent as other fishers. This finding is consistent with a possible transition from the traditional Voodoo-based institution to the secular fishing committee institution. More research is needed to fully assess the effectiveness of, and interactions between, the two institutions.

Suggested Citation

Briones Alonso, Elena and Houssa, Romain and Verpoorten, Marijke, Voodoo versus Fishing Committees: The Role of Traditional and Contemporary Institutions in Fisheries Management (March 3, 2015). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2577823 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2577823

Elena Briones Alonso (Contact Author)

KU Leuven - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance (LICOS) ( email )

Waaistraat 6 - box 3511
Leuven, 3000
Belgium

Romain Houssa

CRED & CEREFIM, University of Namur ( email )

8 Rempart de la Vierge
Namur, 5000
Belgium

Marijke Verpoorten

University of Antwerp - Institute of Development Policy and Management ( email )

City campus building S
Lange Sint Annastraat 7
Antwerp, 2000
Belgium

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - Center for Economic Studies ( email )

Naamsestraat 69
Leuven, B-3000
Belgium

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
48
Abstract Views
622
PlumX Metrics