Evolution of Collective Action in a Ski Resort Facing Declining Domestic Demand and Inbound Opportunity: Hakuba's Dynamic Downsizing

In Japan's ski boom of 1960-80 Hakuba's subsistence farmers collectively transformed adjacent mountain slopes into ski areas and built new incomes by individually offering accommodation. Since the domestic market went bust, they have reorganized collective and individual efforts to create a destination resort attractive to inbound tourists. A differentiated common pool resources approach, using concepts from evolutionary economy geography, is utilized to evaluate their success in this endeavor. This structure evolved path dependencies that inhibit coordination of ski areas, generate some divisions in resort governance, and preclude integration of mountain and town activities. The structure does, however, enable reformulation of social capital and a competitive selection of firms that enables dynamic downsizing of the resort.