Equality Until Scarcity: How Needs Shape Water Allocation Decisions - Experimental Evidence from La Guajira, Colombia

Open seminar with Juliane Koch, Lund University.

About the seminar

In this study, we investigate how scarcity and the source of inequality affect collective choices over water allocation rules. We conduct a lab-in-the-field experiment in Indigenous communities in La Guajira, Colombia, where participants vote over alternative rules for allocating water.

Across four scenarios, we vary individual water endowments, water needs, and overall water availability and, between treatments, whether individual characteristics are observable. We find a strong shift in preferences: while participants initially favor egalitarian allocation, support for equality declines sharply under scarcity, with many switching to needs-based allocation.

This shift depends on the source of inequality. When differences reflect endowments, participants maintain support for equality; when they reflect needs, support for unequal, needs-based allocations increases. Observability has limited effects, consistent with survey evidence that water use is already highly visible and equal sharing norms are deeply rooted in these communities.

Our findings highlight how scarcity and the source of inequality shape context-dependent social norms over resource allocation.

How to participate

The seminar is open to all.
The seminar will take place in Auditorium Von Langen, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958 Frederiksberg