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Dr. John Kerr
Department of Community Sustainability, 325 Natural Resources Building 480 Wilson Road, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA

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0 Natural Resource Management
0 Participatory Development
0 Soil Management
0 collective action
0 Institutions and governance

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Journal article
Published: 16 December 2020 in Energy for Sustainable Development
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One of the pressing challenges to economic development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is access to electrical power. In Nigeria, there is a large gap in electricity access between rural and urban areas; only about 40% have access in rural areas as compared to almost 60% in urban areas. A potential solution is the use of off-grid solar electricity to meet their needs. This article seeks to assess the tradeoffs involved in using off-grid solar electricity from the perspective of Nigerian households. Given their generally low income levels, the research focuses on the lower end of the market for off-grid solar electricity: solar chargers. It uses choice experiments to measure households' preferences for solar electricity by exploring attributes rural households are looking for in solar chargers. The relationship between households' preferences and off-grid solar electricity was analyzed using a random parameter logit model. Findings indicate that confidence in the quality of the product was the most important variable, and that respondents associated higher priced solar chargers with higher quality. These findings suggest that energy companies making off-grid electricity technology could consider offering warrantees for high-quality products in order to build consumers' trust.

ACS Style

Obafemi Elegbede; John Kerr; Robert Richardson; Awa Sanou. Using a choice experiment to understand preferences in off-grid solar electricity attributes: The case of Nigerian households. Energy for Sustainable Development 2020, 60, 33 -39.

AMA Style

Obafemi Elegbede, John Kerr, Robert Richardson, Awa Sanou. Using a choice experiment to understand preferences in off-grid solar electricity attributes: The case of Nigerian households. Energy for Sustainable Development. 2020; 60 ():33-39.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Obafemi Elegbede; John Kerr; Robert Richardson; Awa Sanou. 2020. "Using a choice experiment to understand preferences in off-grid solar electricity attributes: The case of Nigerian households." Energy for Sustainable Development 60, no. : 33-39.

Journal article
Published: 14 July 2020 in Sustainability
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The deposit refund program for the return of beverage containers in some U.S. states has led to recycling as a means of earning income. Michigan's 10-cent aluminum can and bottle refund, which is the highest in the U.S., makes recycling for income particularly attractive. This study explores the factors that enable or constrain the livelihood activity of people who collect cans and bottles at football tailgating parties, focusing on the motivation behind choices and the factors that enhance or constrain their activities. Maximum variation (heterogeneity) sampling, a purposeful sampling method, was used to recruit participants from different races, genders, and age groups. Data were collected through direct observation and semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that the income from this livelihood activity was an important survival strategy for those who engage in it. Other significant sources of motivation include contributing to environmental stewardship and recognition for doing so. Differences in capital assets such as social networks, physical strength, skills, and access to equipment led to differences in people's ability to earn income from collecting cans and bottles. Some challenges restricted their activities, including accessing shopping carts and public buses to transport the cans and limitations imposed on the number of cans that canners can redeem at the redemption centers.

ACS Style

Noleen R. Chikowore; John M. Kerr. A Qualitative Inquiry into Collecting Recyclable Cans and Bottles as a Livelihood Activity at Football Tailgates in the United States. Sustainability 2020, 12, 5659 .

AMA Style

Noleen R. Chikowore, John M. Kerr. A Qualitative Inquiry into Collecting Recyclable Cans and Bottles as a Livelihood Activity at Football Tailgates in the United States. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (14):5659.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Noleen R. Chikowore; John M. Kerr. 2020. "A Qualitative Inquiry into Collecting Recyclable Cans and Bottles as a Livelihood Activity at Football Tailgates in the United States." Sustainability 12, no. 14: 5659.

Journal article
Published: 13 September 2017 in Sustainability
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Interdisciplinary analytical perspectives can bring important insights to address complex sustainability problems. In this paper we present and apply a model that integrates perspectives from economics and communication sciences to address the question of what happens to pro-environmental behavior after the introduction and then the withdrawal of payment for environmental services (PES). In particular, we discuss the effects of financial incentives on social norms and the effects of norms on subsequent behavior after incentives have ended. This is important because the dominant literature on PES lacks a sophisticated understanding of social norms and fails to address what will happen to behavior once payments end. That literature addresses the potential problem that payments can crowd out or possibly crowd in intrinsic sources of motivation for pro-social behavior, but it lacks the sophisticated understanding of social norms that has the potential to help explain and address this phenomenon. We summarize experimental evidence based on our model showing that introducing a financial incentive for behavior change can change social norms around that behavior. These norms, in turn, can continue to influence behavior even after incentives have ended. PES programs can address this situation by actively evoking existing social norms in favor of conservation.

ACS Style

John M. Kerr; Maria K. Lapinski; Rain Wuyu Liu; Jinhua Zhao. Long-Term Effects of Payments for Environmental Services: Combining Insights from Communication and Economics. Sustainability 2017, 9, 1627 .

AMA Style

John M. Kerr, Maria K. Lapinski, Rain Wuyu Liu, Jinhua Zhao. Long-Term Effects of Payments for Environmental Services: Combining Insights from Communication and Economics. Sustainability. 2017; 9 (9):1627.

Chicago/Turabian Style

John M. Kerr; Maria K. Lapinski; Rain Wuyu Liu; Jinhua Zhao. 2017. "Long-Term Effects of Payments for Environmental Services: Combining Insights from Communication and Economics." Sustainability 9, no. 9: 1627.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2015 in Forest Policy and Economics
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ACS Style

Kundan Kumar; Neera M. Singh; John M. Kerr. Decentralisation and democratic forest reforms in India: Moving to a rights-based approach. Forest Policy and Economics 2015, 51, 1 -8.

AMA Style

Kundan Kumar, Neera M. Singh, John M. Kerr. Decentralisation and democratic forest reforms in India: Moving to a rights-based approach. Forest Policy and Economics. 2015; 51 ():1-8.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kundan Kumar; Neera M. Singh; John M. Kerr. 2015. "Decentralisation and democratic forest reforms in India: Moving to a rights-based approach." Forest Policy and Economics 51, no. : 1-8.

Journal article
Published: 31 August 2014 in International Journal of the Commons
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As payment for environmental services (PES) initiatives spread to collectively managed natural resources, questions arise because the incentive structures that might be appropriate for individually managed resources will not necessarily promote the collective action required to manage the commons. Theory suggests challenges for cash payments to promote collective action, and for alternative payment types to facilitate conditionality. Possible ways to reconcile this disconnect involve conceiving of PES more broadly through the use of multiple forms of payment including non-cash incentives and placing greater focus on building institutions for collective action than on strict conditionality.

ACS Style

John M. Kerr; Mamta Vardhan; Rohit Jindal. Incentives, conditionality and collective action in payment for environmental services. International Journal of the Commons 2014, 8, 595 .

AMA Style

John M. Kerr, Mamta Vardhan, Rohit Jindal. Incentives, conditionality and collective action in payment for environmental services. International Journal of the Commons. 2014; 8 (2):595.

Chicago/Turabian Style

John M. Kerr; Mamta Vardhan; Rohit Jindal. 2014. "Incentives, conditionality and collective action in payment for environmental services." International Journal of the Commons 8, no. 2: 595.

Journal article
Published: 31 August 2014 in International Journal of the Commons
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ACS Style

John M. Kerr; Mamta Vardhan; Rohit Jindal. Incentives, conditionality and collective action in payment for environmental services. International Journal of the Commons 2014, 8, 595 .

AMA Style

John M. Kerr, Mamta Vardhan, Rohit Jindal. Incentives, conditionality and collective action in payment for environmental services. International Journal of the Commons. 2014; 8 (2):595.

Chicago/Turabian Style

John M. Kerr; Mamta Vardhan; Rohit Jindal. 2014. "Incentives, conditionality and collective action in payment for environmental services." International Journal of the Commons 8, no. 2: 595.

Book chapter
Published: 21 August 2014 in Valuing Ecosystem Services
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ACS Style

Rohit Jindal; John Kerr. Exploring demand for tree planting in a payment for environmental services project in Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya. Valuing Ecosystem Services 2014, 378 -394.

AMA Style

Rohit Jindal, John Kerr. Exploring demand for tree planting in a payment for environmental services project in Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya. Valuing Ecosystem Services. 2014; ():378-394.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rohit Jindal; John Kerr. 2014. "Exploring demand for tree planting in a payment for environmental services project in Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya." Valuing Ecosystem Services , no. : 378-394.

Journal article
Published: 23 January 2013 in Agriculture and Human Values
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Much of the developing world, including Kenya, is rapidly urbanizing. Rising food and fuel prices in recent years have put the food security of the urban poor in a precarious position. In cities worldwide, urban agriculture helps some poor people gain access to food, but urban agriculture is less common in densely populated slums that lack space. In the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Kenya, households have recently begun a new form of urban agriculture called sack gardening in which vegetables such as kale and Swiss chard are planted into large sacks filled with topsoil. This paper examines relationships among sack gardening, social capital, and food security in Kibera. We used a mixed methods approach, combining qualitative interviews with a household survey, as well as focus group discussions with both farmers and non-farmers. We present evidence that sack gardening increases social capital, especially for those households that undertake sack gardening in groups. We also find that sack gardening in the Kibera slums has a positive impact on household food security by improving household dietary diversity and by reducing the need to resort to painful coping mechanisms that are used during food shortages.

ACS Style

Courtney M. Gallaher; John M. Kerr; Mary Njenga; Nancy K. Karanja; Antoinette M. G. A. WinklerPrins. Urban agriculture, social capital, and food security in the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Agriculture and Human Values 2013, 30, 389 -404.

AMA Style

Courtney M. Gallaher, John M. Kerr, Mary Njenga, Nancy K. Karanja, Antoinette M. G. A. WinklerPrins. Urban agriculture, social capital, and food security in the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Agriculture and Human Values. 2013; 30 (3):389-404.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Courtney M. Gallaher; John M. Kerr; Mary Njenga; Nancy K. Karanja; Antoinette M. G. A. WinklerPrins. 2013. "Urban agriculture, social capital, and food security in the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Kenya." Agriculture and Human Values 30, no. 3: 389-404.

Journal article
Published: 17 May 2012 in Development and Change
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Inclusion of marginalized sections and minorities remains one of the most vexing problems for democratic politics. This article discusses the enactment of a recent Indian law, ‘The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act, 2006’, as exemplifying the possibilities of inclusion of marginalized groups in democratic processes. The law was enacted in response to a nationwide mobilization of marginalized forest dwellers and their advocates demanding rights over forests. Grassroots‐level formations representing forest dwellers came together across scales and spaces to form a network that successfully negotiated India's democratic politics to achieve the passage of the law. The case illustrates the role of grassroots mobilizations in creating alternate discourses of legitimacy, networking across scales and locations, and using spaces provided by representative democracy to include the voices and demands of the marginalized in democracies.

ACS Style

Kundan Kumar; John M. Kerr. Democratic Assertions: The Making of India's Recognition of Forest Rights Act. Development and Change 2012, 43, 751 -771.

AMA Style

Kundan Kumar, John M. Kerr. Democratic Assertions: The Making of India's Recognition of Forest Rights Act. Development and Change. 2012; 43 (3):751-771.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kundan Kumar; John M. Kerr. 2012. "Democratic Assertions: The Making of India's Recognition of Forest Rights Act." Development and Change 43, no. 3: 751-771.

Journal article
Published: 11 September 2011 in European Review of Agricultural Economics
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To paraphrase Angelson (2009), REDD+ is an apparently brilliant idea facing a serious reality check as it moves towards implementation. The idea is brilliant because deforestation and forest degradation are major contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, so offering incentives for people to stop deforestation and enhance existing carbon stocks could be a relatively inexpensive way to mitigate global climate change. The reality check comes in the form of unclear property rights over forests, weak governance plagued by corruption, lack of data on existing carbon stocks and lack of systems to measure changes in carbon attributable to an incentive system. In other words, paying people to conserve forests is well and good, but who would you pay, how would they manage it and how would you know...

ACS Style

John Kerr. Payments for Environmental Services, Forest Conservation and Climate Change: Livelihoods in the REDD? European Review of Agricultural Economics 2011, 38, 613 -615.

AMA Style

John Kerr. Payments for Environmental Services, Forest Conservation and Climate Change: Livelihoods in the REDD? European Review of Agricultural Economics. 2011; 38 (4):613-615.

Chicago/Turabian Style

John Kerr. 2011. "Payments for Environmental Services, Forest Conservation and Climate Change: Livelihoods in the REDD?" European Review of Agricultural Economics 38, no. 4: 613-615.

Book review
Published: 10 December 2010 in Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research
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ACS Style

John Kerr; Claire W. Armstrong; Denise Lach. Book Reviews. Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research 2010, 3, 91 -95.

AMA Style

John Kerr, Claire W. Armstrong, Denise Lach. Book Reviews. Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research. 2010; 3 (1):91-95.

Chicago/Turabian Style

John Kerr; Claire W. Armstrong; Denise Lach. 2010. "Book Reviews." Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research 3, no. 1: 91-95.

Review
Published: 13 May 2009 in Journal of Sustainable Forestry
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This article reviews 15 payment for watershed services (PWS) programs in Asia, most of which are in early stages of implementation. Important constraints against PWS in Asia include high population density that escalates transaction costs of contracting potential service suppliers, and state control over most forestlands. China has two nationwide programs that encourage afforestation to arrest soil erosion. Indonesia has several local PWS schemes to conserve catchments upstream of dams and hydroelectric plants. Vietnam, Nepal, and the Philippines have similar initiatives, funded by international donors or local hydroelectric companies. India presents two cases where village communities came up with innovative social arrangements to secure watershed services. However, in most cases conditionality is weakly enforced, and participation may be mandatory. Government is the major buyer of watershed services, while private or quasi-private companies are involved in a few watersheds in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Nepal. Evidence of PWS on poverty alleviation is tenuous in most cases. China's Sloping Land Conversion Program has helped the poor increase their asset base while landless farmers in Indonesia have received conditional land tenure.

ACS Style

Marjorie Huang; Shyam K. Upadhyaya; Rohit Jindal; John Kerr. Payments for Watershed Services in Asia: A Review of Current Initiatives. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 2009, 28, 551 -575.

AMA Style

Marjorie Huang, Shyam K. Upadhyaya, Rohit Jindal, John Kerr. Payments for Watershed Services in Asia: A Review of Current Initiatives. Journal of Sustainable Forestry. 2009; 28 (3-5):551-575.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marjorie Huang; Shyam K. Upadhyaya; Rohit Jindal; John Kerr. 2009. "Payments for Watershed Services in Asia: A Review of Current Initiatives." Journal of Sustainable Forestry 28, no. 3-5: 551-575.

Conference paper
Published: 01 January 2008 in 21st Century Watershed Technology: Improving Water Quality and Environment Conference Proceedings, 29 March - 3 April 2008, Concepcion, Chile
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ACS Style

Theo A Dillaha; Paul J Ferraro; Marjorie Huang; Shyam Upadhyaya; Douglas Southgate; Sven Wunder; Rohit Jindal; John Kerr. Payments for Watershed Services in Developing Countries. 21st Century Watershed Technology: Improving Water Quality and Environment Conference Proceedings, 29 March - 3 April 2008, Concepcion, Chile 2008, 33 .

AMA Style

Theo A Dillaha, Paul J Ferraro, Marjorie Huang, Shyam Upadhyaya, Douglas Southgate, Sven Wunder, Rohit Jindal, John Kerr. Payments for Watershed Services in Developing Countries. 21st Century Watershed Technology: Improving Water Quality and Environment Conference Proceedings, 29 March - 3 April 2008, Concepcion, Chile. 2008; ():33.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Theo A Dillaha; Paul J Ferraro; Marjorie Huang; Shyam Upadhyaya; Douglas Southgate; Sven Wunder; Rohit Jindal; John Kerr. 2008. "Payments for Watershed Services in Developing Countries." 21st Century Watershed Technology: Improving Water Quality and Environment Conference Proceedings, 29 March - 3 April 2008, Concepcion, Chile , no. : 33.

Journal article
Published: 17 October 2007 in International Journal of the Commons
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ACS Style

John Kerr. Watershed Management: Lessons from Common Property Theory. International Journal of the Commons 2007, 1, 89 .

AMA Style

John Kerr. Watershed Management: Lessons from Common Property Theory. International Journal of the Commons. 2007; 1 (1):89.

Chicago/Turabian Style

John Kerr. 2007. "Watershed Management: Lessons from Common Property Theory." International Journal of the Commons 1, no. 1: 89.

Journal article
Published: 17 October 2007 in International Journal of the Commons
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ACS Style

John Kerr. Watershed Management: Lessons from Common Property Theory. International Journal of the Commons 2007, 1, 89 .

AMA Style

John Kerr. Watershed Management: Lessons from Common Property Theory. International Journal of the Commons. 2007; 1 (1):89.

Chicago/Turabian Style

John Kerr. 2007. "Watershed Management: Lessons from Common Property Theory." International Journal of the Commons 1, no. 1: 89.

Journal article
Published: 21 February 2006 in Environment, Development and Sustainability
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Watershed development is the focus of poverty alleviation programs in rural India. Watershed projects aim to solve problems of externalities, but they also create their own externalities, which cause uneven distribution of costs and benefits that undermine project objectives and harm the poor. Numerous approaches exist to internalize externalities, including awareness creation, moral suasion, investment subsidies, regulatory limits and fines, indirect benefits, mergers, and recent innovations like payment for environmental services and cap and trade. These can be judged on several criteria; the best approach would solve the problem cost effectively and help or at least not hurt poor people. Watershed projects in India were examined to identify the approaches taken to internalize watershed externalities. Investment subsidies and indirect employment benefits are the least effective approaches theoretically, but they are the most commonly applied, most likely because they are easy to administer and bring popular short term gains. Some theoretically favorable approaches that have been used elsewhere, such as payment for environmental services, may not work as well in India due to high transaction costs. However, one key innovation that easily could be applied in India is to make investment subsidies contingent on performance. Legal support and property rights reform would be needed for other favorable approaches.

ACS Style

John Kerr; Grant Milne; Vasudha Chhotray; Pari Baumann; A.J. James. Managing Watershed Externalities in India: Theory and Practice. Environment, Development and Sustainability 2006, 9, 263 -281.

AMA Style

John Kerr, Grant Milne, Vasudha Chhotray, Pari Baumann, A.J. James. Managing Watershed Externalities in India: Theory and Practice. Environment, Development and Sustainability. 2006; 9 (3):263-281.

Chicago/Turabian Style

John Kerr; Grant Milne; Vasudha Chhotray; Pari Baumann; A.J. James. 2006. "Managing Watershed Externalities in India: Theory and Practice." Environment, Development and Sustainability 9, no. 3: 263-281.

Journal article
Published: 01 May 2005 in Land Degradation & Development
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This paper investigates farmers' perceptions of soil erosion and how it affects crop yields, land values, and private conservation investments in India's semiarid tropics. It is based on three types of data: (1) a survey of farmers in three study villages; (2) a plot survey by a professional soil surveyor in the same villages; and (3) experimental and simulated data from nearby research stations with similar conditions. Farmers' perceptions of erosion are compared to the surveyor's using kappa, a statistical measure of interrater agreement. Perceived erosion–yield relationships are estimated econometrically and compared to experimental and simulated data. Effects on land values and conservation investments are estimated econometrically. Findings suggest that farmers are keenly aware of rill erosion but less aware of sheet erosion; kappa values ranging from 0 to 0·28 suggest low agreement with the soil surveyor. They anticipate annual yield losses of 5·8–11 per cent due to rill erosion; these figures are reasonably consistent with those from nearby research stations. They anticipate yield increases of 3·8–14·5 per cent due to installation of soil conservation bunds, largely because they can harvest soil from up the slope and capture organic matter. Perceived erosion has some effect on land values and soil conservation investments, but other factors such as irrigation and soil type have a much greater effect. These findings suggest that promoting soil conservation requires capitalizing on farmers' interest in short‐term gains, such as from water and nutrient management. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ACS Style

J. Kerr; J. Pender. Farmers' perceptions of soil erosion and its consequences in India's semiarid tropics. Land Degradation & Development 2005, 16, 257 -271.

AMA Style

J. Kerr, J. Pender. Farmers' perceptions of soil erosion and its consequences in India's semiarid tropics. Land Degradation & Development. 2005; 16 (3):257-271.

Chicago/Turabian Style

J. Kerr; J. Pender. 2005. "Farmers' perceptions of soil erosion and its consequences in India's semiarid tropics." Land Degradation & Development 16, no. 3: 257-271.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2002 in Water Policy
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Watershed projects play an increasingly important role in managing soil and water resources throughout the world. Research is needed to ensure that new projects draw upon lessons from their predecessors’ experiences. However, the technical and social complexities of watershed projects make evaluation difficult. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods, which traditionally have been used separately, both have strengths and weaknesses. Combining them can make evaluation more effective, particularly when constraints to study design exist. This paper presents mixed-method approaches for evaluating watershed projects. A recent evaluation in India provides illustrations.

ACS Style

J Kerr. Evaluating watershed management projects. Water Policy 2002, 3, 537 -554.

AMA Style

J Kerr. Evaluating watershed management projects. Water Policy. 2002; 3 (6):537-554.

Chicago/Turabian Style

J Kerr. 2002. "Evaluating watershed management projects." Water Policy 3, no. 6: 537-554.