Abstract

Fairness perceptions can contribute to trust or distrust in a policy process. Under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) basins may limit groundwater extraction for users, including farmers. Using a 2017 survey of 137 farmers in Yolo County, we adapt a typology of fairness principles, previously applied to climate policy, to examine farmers’ fairness perceptions for groundwater allocation strategies and reconciliation options. Yolo farmers show clear preference for allocation by overlying land area and dispute reconciliation by the local Groundwater Sustainability Agency. Using ordered logit regression models, we find that positive procedural perceptions of SGMA predict both allocation and dispute resolution preferences. We find no evidence for self-interested bias in allocation preferences, but rather the contextual default for allocation (egalitarian) appears to drive current fairness perceptions. Insight into contextual norms and perceptions of the policy process can align allocation and dispute resolution decisions with stakeholder fairness assessments.

摘要

公平感可以在政策制定过程中促成信任或不信任。根据加利福尼亚州的《可持续地下水管理法》（SGMA），流域可能会限制包括农民在内的使用者的地下水开采。我们在2017年对Yolo县137名农民进行的调查中，采用了以前应用于气候政策的公平原则的类型，以检验农民对地下水分配策略和和解方案的公平认知。Yolo农民明显偏爱通过覆盖土地面积进行分配以及由当地地下水可持续发展局进行调解。使用有序logit回归模型，我们发现SGMA的积极程序感知可以预测分配和争议解决偏好。我们没有证据表明在分配偏好方面存在利己主义的偏见，但是分配的上下文默认（平等主义）似乎推动了当前的公平观念。洞察上下文规范和对政策过程的看法可以使分配和争议解决决策与利益相关者公平性评估保持一致。