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Self-selection and PES design

PES programs are generally designed to be voluntary in terms of participation. That is, ecosystem managers can decide freely whether to enroll in the program and obtain payments for ecosystem service provision. The design features of a PES program may therefore not only affect the level of service provision by those participating; it may also affect who chooses to participate. We aim to investigate if individuals exhibiting different traits (including different types of preferences and personality traits) are attracted by different types of incentive schemes. It is likely that program design may affect the initial distribution of preference types among participants and hence overall program performance.

This project has been successfully completed already.