Analysis of the resilience of common-pool resources during globalization: The case of Jeju common ranches in Korea

Abstract

A common-pool resource (CPR) is a type of good consisting of a natural or human-made resource system. Jeju common ranches are historical CPRs located in Jeju Province where mid-mountainous grassland has been shared for livestock farming by the members of adjacent villages since the 10th century. Because of the recent globalization movement, the number of ranches has decreased from 126 in the 1940s to only 53 in 2015; while the majority of the ranches did not survive the transformation, others have remained active by adopting various solutions. In this study, we analyzed the administrative characteristics of the CPRs to explain their current status (i.e., extinction or continuance as a common property) using logistic regression analysis. From this analysis, four statistically meaningful variables were extracted using a forward stepwise selection method; these include the type of ranch management, ratio of land area to population, number of internal committees in the village, and number of local government grants. These variables correlate well with previously recognized 'community resilience dimensions' and can be used to explain the fate of the Jeju common ranches during the study period. This study elucidates what community dimensions should be fortified to promote the resilience of Jeju common ranches in order to effectively cope with the on-going effects of globalization.