Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Growing demands for surface and ground water across the United States have threatened the quantity and quality of water resources and necessitated long-term water management plans, many of which involve voluntary compliance. Government agencies, acting as conduits to research-based information, are charged with providing educational programming and support services aimed at promoting sustainable water practices and managing common-pool resources. The potential for program success is often based on assumptions that program adoption is commensurate with economic viability. It is unclear whether agency actors perceive these strategies to be effective since other non-economic factors possibly driving program adoption, such as policy core beliefs, have not been explored. If in fact agency actors do not view policies as effective, this can increase governmental transaction costs. Previous studies indicate that the perceived effectiveness of policies and policy core beliefs are interdependent.  Using original data collected from Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service Agents in 2016, we explore how personal value predispositions may influence their perceptions regarding the effectiveness of policies associated with conjunctive water conservation measures across the state of Arkansas. The Cooperative Extension Service conducts research and provides programming to support sustainable agriculture and natural resource management, effectively functioning as a source for scientific expertise as well as a conduit between farmers and other scientific experts. A comprehensive understanding of factors that influence individual level perceptions among agency actors with regard to the adoption of water conservation measures is important to future research and efficient management strategies aimed at improving water resource quality and quantity.