"Impatience" of forest dependent communities evidence from Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

This study is an attempt to generate empirical evidence on the time discount rate or “impatience” of forest dependent communities (FDCs). The FDCs covered in the study include two different geographical regions from the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh – Rayalaseema (a relatively dry forest region with low income) and the coastal region (relatively fertile forest and with higher income). “Impatience” was measured as the revealed individual time discount rate from the choice task methodology. With this measure, on average, members of FDCs from Rayalaseema were found to be more “impatient” compared to their counterparts from the coastal region. Using interval regression, the study also looked at the role of income and socioeconomic variables on their impatience. Incomes of members of FDCs both from Rayalaseema and the coastal region did not contribute to their “impatience”. For members of FDCs from Rayalaseema, on average, proximity to urban centers was found to contribute positively to “impatience” and membership to “other backward caste” (relative to “scheduled caste” and “scheduled tribe”) negatively so. For members of FDCs from the coastal region, family size and being a shared decision maker within the family contributed negatively to impatience.