Understanding the social construction of unsustainable human behaviour

Lake Tai in the mid-east of China is known for its extreme level of pollution and its exceptional and still increasing eutrophication. The eutrophication not only impedes social and economic development, it in fact jeopardizes fresh water safety and supply for millions of local residents. It is caused by an excessive import of nutrients from agricultural non-point-source pollution with chemical fertilizers as the major nitrogen input source. The case of Lake Tai is a magnificent specimen for the acquisition of knowledge in the discipline of resource economics. Human conduct, here farmers' behaviour, and the inherent puzzle of individual decision-making, the decisions on fertilizer application, interacts with the individual's environment. The here elaborated theory of action is applied to empirical data collected in the lake's catchment area. The analysis is guided by the tradition of classical institutionalism, moving from general ideas concerning the evolutionary nature of social processes, human action and institutions to distinct explanations of the specific example of human conduct. The objective of the book at hand is to improve the understanding and conceptualisation of human behaviour applied to an empirical example. The author elaborates a stimulus to the discourses and solution approaches to social and environmental challenges based on the insights of institutional resource economics.