Qualitative comparative institutional analysis of environmental governance: Implications from research on payments for ecosystem services

Meyer, Claas; Chen, Cheng; Matzdorf, Bettina

doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.07.008

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…As a 'middle road' between quantitative and qualitative strategies (Rihoux 2003), QCA may go beyond them by making systematic comparisons while still taking into account the single case (Meyer et al 2018). Despite being a well-established tool for policy research, the application of QCA in the field of environmental governance is rare.…”

Section: Methodological Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the potentials and limits of QCA were reflected by our SLCP study case, the added value of QCA as an alternative or complementary method to conventional research approaches might be discovered. The advantages of QCA may be especially relevant in terms of research on PES, which requires a better integration of relations between institutional, socioeconomic and environmental issues (Meyer et al 2018).…”

Section: Methodological Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We acknowledged that this method is only briefly introduced in this section of this paper. Our recent publication explains how QCA could be applied in institutional analysis for PES and illustrates five basic steps for such application (Meyer et al 2018). In Ragin (2008Ragin ( , 2014 and Wagemann (2010, 2012) provide handbooks, user guides, explanations and standards of good practice regarding this method.…”

Section: Data Analysis By Qualitative Comparative Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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How socioeconomic and institutional conditions at the household level shape the environmental effectiveness of governmental payments for ecosystem services program

Chen

Matzdorf

Meyer

et al. 2019

Ecosystems and People

Self Cite

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As the world's largest payments for ecosystem services (PES) program, China's Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) is designed to combat soil erosion and land degradation by converting cropland on steep slopes into forests. Operating through an incentive-based approach, the SLCP involved 32 million rural households as core agents. This paper aims to fill a research gap regarding how socioeconomic and institutional conditions influence rural households to reach the primary environmental goals. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we conclude that at the household level, the different pathways to environmental success or failure have been shaped by socioeconomic and institutional conditions in a combinatory manner rather than single conditions alone. Specifically, the combination of household involvement and effective monitoring plays a fundamental role in capacity-building between government and households. We found that financial incentives have a trade-off effect, as they could not only create a positive interaction but also trigger failure in situations with different conditions. Finally, the potential and limits of QCA were discussed, and we call for a more serious reflection on the added value of QCA as an alternative or complementary method to conventional approaches in environmental governance research.

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Section: Methodological Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodological Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Analysis By Qualitative Comparative Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

How socioeconomic and institutional conditions at the household level shape the environmental effectiveness of governmental payments for ecosystem services program

Chen

Matzdorf

Meyer

et al. 2019

Ecosystems and People

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Addressing adequately this initial condition, we chose a qualitative research approach [35] with an embedded case design [36]. The main part of the research design consists of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) [37][38][39]. With QCA, we were able to unravel configurational patterns for acceptance and rejection and to create a typology of farmer groups [38].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acceptability of innovative biomass heating plants in a German case study—a contribution to cultural landscape management and local energy supply

Busse

Siebert

Heitepriem³

2019

Energ Sustain Soc

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Background To prevent negative effects on the cultural landscape through land abandonment or agricultural intensification, innovative solutions towards more sustainable land use are required. Local bioenergy systems using agricultural co-products are perceived as one solution to threatened cultural landscapes with small-scale meadows. The aim of this paper is to analyse the acceptability of biomass heating plants in the Spreewald region (Germany) and their contribution to cultural landscape management. Methods We asked 17 farmers about the likelihood that they would install a biomass plant on their farms and about their reasons for accepting or rejecting it. A fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis was applied. Results The analysis showed that acceptance is relatively low. We identified three types of farmers: proponents and potential adopters, ethically concerned opponents, and open-minded refusers. Biomass plants were likely to be accepted if farmers stated an ethical acceptance of and interest in technology, a need for a new heating system, the availability of sufficient feedstock, and a perceived unproblematic readiness of technology—all these factors had to exist in combination. On the other hand, farmers rejected a biomass plant if one of the following factors existed: ethical concerns about “burning hay”, satisfaction with their current oven, low availability of feedstock, or a perceived low readiness of technology. Other factors were the existence of procedural justice, trust in coordinating actors, and a demonstration plant. Conclusions The discussion shows that the specific results have to be contextualised within the innovation process for sustainable landscape management. This may be achieved by integrating the acceptability study into an adaptive landscape design. This relies on mutable acceptability decisions, reflexive learning processes, and iterative feedback loops in innovation processes. Our paper advances knowledge about (1) how to prevent land abandonment and simultaneously promote regional energy and (2) the acceptability in the field of land use and landscape management. Keywords Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA); Bioenergy; Energy transitions; Co-products; Biomass conversion; Gasification; Land abandonment; Wetlands; Integrative landscape design

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“…For instance, Sun et al (2015) and Liu et al (2020) found that the area and investment involved in the GFGP in northern Shaanxi were much higher than the average for the Loess Plateau; Liu et al (2020) and Zhou et al (2019) reported that the implementation intensity of the GFGP in Yan'an was significantly greater than that in Yulin and that it was even higher in Wuqi. The GFGP is a top-down regulatory policy (Meyer et al, 2018;Zhang et al, 2008), and the annual tasks for the GFGP are transmitted stepwise along with administrative levels (Xu & Zhang, 2021). The noticeable differences in the policy intensity of different administrative regions are mainly caused by different administrative orders.…”

Section: Adjustment Effects Of Climate Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing the long‐term effects of artificial and natural vegetation restoration strategies: A case‐study of Wuqi and its adjacent counties in northern China

Zhang

2021

Land Degrad Dev

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The significant increase in vegetation coverage in northern China over the past two decades has attracted worldwide attention. Revegetation has been completed via artificial and natural restoration techniques, and the relative performance of each needs to be further explored. Although some studies have focused on the comparison between artificial and natural methods in vegetation restoration from a micro‐perspective, there is a lack of evidence at the regional scale. This study considers Wuqi County and its adjacent areas of the Loess Plateau in northern China as our study area. First, natural and artificial restoration areas were identified. Then, the restoration sustainability of different restoration strategies and the adjustment effect of climate factors in the relationship between vegetation restoration strategy choice and vegetation restoration sustainability were analyzed. We found that the vegetation restoration strategies employed varied between local jurisdictions. In areas dominated by artificial restoration, vegetation coverage increased over a short period, but the growth rate diminished in the long term. In comparison, in areas mainly dominated by natural restoration, although the growth rate of revegetation was not very high in the short term, it was stable in the long term. In addition, the impact of vegetation restoration strategies on vegetation restoration sustainability exhibited spatial heterogeneity, and the temperature, humidity, and wind speed further affected strategy outcomes. This study provides a new perspective for vegetation restoration strategy evaluation and is expected to serve as a reference for the optimization of relevant ecological policies in the future.

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Qualitative comparative institutional analysis of environmental governance: Implications from research on payments for ecosystem services

Cited by 18 publications

References 44 publications

How socioeconomic and institutional conditions at the household level shape the environmental effectiveness of governmental payments for ecosystem services program

How socioeconomic and institutional conditions at the household level shape the environmental effectiveness of governmental payments for ecosystem services program

Acceptability of innovative biomass heating plants in a German case study—a contribution to cultural landscape management and local energy supply

Comparing the long‐term effects of artificial and natural vegetation restoration strategies: A case‐study of Wuqi and its adjacent counties in northern China

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