Common pool resources Flashcards
Common pool resource
non excludable but rivalrousness
Why do policy makers focus on the non excludable goods?
They tend to be under-produced when left to the market
under protected?
Other names for exclusive goods
toll goods
club goods
Resource system vs resource unit
Resource system can be seen as stock
Resource unit can be seen as flow
Resource attributes versus property regimes
Resource can stay the same, but use can change.
E.g. the development of barbed wire changed how
livestock was managed in the (not so) wild, wild west
example of resource systems
forests
fisheries
irrigation systems
pastures
example of resource unit
timber fish water crop fodder
Hardin’s solutions to tragedy of the commons
He believed that there were only 2 solutions total:
1) Privatization
2) Central government control
How did Harding think Privatization would solve the tragedy
Convert the commons into private good so that it was their own business what people did on their land
How did Harding think Central government control would solve the tragedy
Convert the commons into public goods. This way they are under government control who can make the rules about them.
Why might privatization not work?
It might be impossible to physically divide something
Communities might prefer joint management
Independent choices may harm others.
Tragedy of private property
– failing to consider non-market values
– ignoring the impacts of unintended side effects
Tragedy of the public domain
– Gridlocks (i.e. paralysis in policy making)
– Corruption (i.e. special interests, iron triangles and
lobbyists negotiating subsidies and tax breaks)
– Institutional arthritis (i.e. inability to respond to
change)
At group level
co-operation pays off. The total sum of cooperation is higher than 1 person cooperating or neither people cooperating.
(card game with black and red cards)
Two most important solutions according to Elinor Ostrom
governing the commons
- Make rules
- Enforce and monitor rules
