THE PROBLEM OF SCALE IN HUMAN ENVIRONMENT RELATIONSHIPS

This essay seeks to initiate a discussion of the problem of scale amon g social scientists. Long familiar to natural scientists, the problem of scale centers on the transferability of propositions from one level to another in the dimensions of space and time. As a means of pursuin g this goal, the essay examines similarities and differences between s tudies of micro-level institutions (common-pool resource [CPR] arrange ments) and macro-level institutions (international resource regimes) g overning human/environment relations. The conclusions are mixed. Some concerns (for example, the importance of transparency) loom large at b oth the micro level and the macro level. But others (for instance, the role of culture in connection with CPRs and the centrality of domesti c implementation in connection with international resource regimes) ar e relevant primarily to one or the other level of analysis.