13. Tragedy of the Commons
Sean Mulholland is associate professor of economics at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. He specializes in economic growth and environmental economics.
People living together must find some way to preserve common resources. Unfortunately, there are strong incentives for people to exploit these resources when they are held in common by everyone. As Prof. Sean Mullholland at Stonehill College explains, the tragedy of the commons occurs when individuals acting independently end up depleting shared resources, such as fisheries or pastureland. Prof. Mullholland discusses two potential solutions to this problem: public ownership, where the property is owned and administered by the government, and private ownership. He discusses the strengths and weaknesses to each approach and some key considerations for determining which institutions best protect useful resources.
- How Fishing Communities Protect Their Future [Article]: Don Leal explains how fishing communities privately work together in the absence of government regulation to solve tragedy of the commons problems.
- The Tragedy of the Anticommons [Audio]: Michael Heller and EconTalk host Russ Roberts look at problems that emerge when numerous individual claims to a resource are bundled together.
- How the Market Can Keep Streams Flowing [Video]: Rob Harmon describes why rivers tend to be neglected and provides suggestions on how to improve the condition of rivers.
Use these questions to enhance your understanding of the topic. We recommend watching the featured video first; the suggested resources will also help.
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Comments
Might this explain why restrooms at a public park are in such a sorry mess compared to those in private restaurants?
Good point.
Probably not. Many of the worst private restrooms are at gas stations.