Institutional choice, community, and struggle: A case study of forest co-management in Mexico

Change in the commons remains poorly understood. This essay analyzes a comparative case study of community forestry in Mexico. In a primary case study, corruption in a community-owned logging business legitimates timber smuggling, and this situation contrasts with several forestry communities having internally-legitimate social institutions able to control such problems. A discussion assesses the institutional choice model for understanding change in the commons and contrasts it with an approach that views individual choices and actions as embedded in communities and cultures. The commons exists in a value-laden social context, and this requires a theory thicker than current versions of institutional choice. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.