5.1 tragedy of the commons

what is the tragedy of the commons?

individuals will use share/public resources in their own self-interest, degrading them

**has to be public and must be degrade, overused, or depleted

what are examples of the tragedy of the commons?

overgrazing, overfishing, water and air pollution, overuse of groundwater

why does the tragedy of the commons happen?

• when no one owns the resource (land, water, air) no one directly suffers the negative consequences of depleting, degrading, or overusing it

• also people assume others will overuse the resource if they dont

• anddd there is no penalty for overusing, degrading, or polluting the resource

what is the problem with the tragedy of the commons?

• things like overfishing can lead to fishery collapses (population crash) loss of income and starvation

• air pollution from coal power plants can lead to bronchitis, asthma, increased healthcare cost

• pesticide runoff from farms contaminates drinking water

what is an externality?

negative costs associated with human actions, that aren’t accounted for in the price (unintended consquence)

how do you solve the toc?

• private land ownership (individual or gov.)

• Fees or taxes for use (eg. permit system)

• taxes, fines, criminal charges for pollution

what are examples of taxes, fines, or criminal charges?

clean water act, clean air act, safe drinking water act