I am an interdisciplinary social scientist. My primary research interests pertain to three areas. First, how do people make decisions about governance and policies, and what motivates people to cooperate, in order to solve difficult societal problems? Second, how do democracies function, and how can democratic governance be improved? Third, how can we promote sustainability and resilience of social and ecological systems? I examine these topics in urban contexts, field settings throughout the world, and in laboratory experiments.

I am currently working on two major, funded projects. The first is a 5-year research grant from the National Science Foundation (Decision, Risk, and Management Sciences) to study the psychological processes involved in societal cooperation. The second is a National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center project examining the legal and institutional foundations of adaptive governance, decentralization, and democracy in cities and water systems.

Research Interests: Environmental governance and sustainability, behavioral economics, quantitative and qualitative methods

Education

Postdoctoral Researcher, Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Indiana-Bloomington

Doctor of Philosophy, Social Cognition, Miami University

Master of Arts, Social Cognition, Miami University

Bachelor of Arts, Psychology /Philosophy, Western Kentucky University

Courses

UPA 673: Behavioral Dimensions of Urban Sustainability

UPA 675: Introduction to Sustainability

UPA 676: Sustainable Social-Ecological Systems

Recent Publications

Sarr, S., Hayes, B., & DeCaro, D.A. (2021). “Applying Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development Framework and design principles for co-production to pollution management in Louisville, Kentucky’s Rubbertown.” Land Use Policy 104:105383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105383

DeCaro, D. A., Arnold, C. A., Frimpong Boamah, E., & Garmestani, A. S. (2017). “Understanding and applying principles of social cognition and decision making in adaptive environmental governance.” Ecology and Society 22(1):33. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09154-220133

DeCaro, D. A., Chaffin, B. C., Schlager, E., Garmestani, A. S., & Ruhl, J.B. (2017). “Legal and institutional foundations of adaptive environmental governance.” Ecology and Society 22(1):32. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09036-220132

Craig, R. K., Garmestani, A. S, Allen, R. Arnold, C. A., Birgé, H., DeCaro, D. A., Fremier, A. K., Gosnell, H., & Schlager, E. (2017). “Balancing stability and flexibility in adaptive governance: An analysis of tools available in U.S. environmental law.“ Ecology and Society 22(2):3. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-08983-220203