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How Inexorable is the 'Tragedy of the Commons?' Institutional Arrangements for Changing the Social Structure of Social Dilemmas

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dc.contributor.author Ostrom, Elinor en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2009-07-31T14:41:26Z
dc.date.available 2009-07-31T14:41:26Z
dc.date.issued 1986 en_US
dc.date.submitted 2002-10-07 en_US
dc.date.submitted 2002-10-07 en_US
dc.identifier.uri https://hdl.handle.net/10535/1998
dc.description.abstract From page 1: "Since Garrett Hardin's captivating article in Science (1968), the expression, 'the tragedy of the commons,' has come to symbolize the degradation of the environment to be expected whenever many individuals own a scarce resource in common. Godwin and Shepard (1979: 265) refer to Hardin's article as '. . . the dominant framework within which social scientists portray environmental and resource issues.' To illustrate the logical structure of his theory, Hardin asks the reader to envision a pasture 'open to all.' He then examines the structure of this situation from the perspective of a rational herdsman. Each herdsman receives a direct return from selling his own animals and suffers delayed costs from the deterioration of the commons when he and others overgraze. The herdsman is motivated to add more and more animals because he receives the proceeds from the sale of his own animals and bears only a share of the costs resulting from over-grazing. Hardin concludes: Therein is the tragedy. Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit - - in a world that is limited. Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons (Hardin, 1968: 1,244)." en_US
dc.language English en_US
dc.subject tragedy of the commons en_US
dc.subject common pool resources en_US
dc.subject Workshop en_US
dc.subject social networks en_US
dc.subject institutional analysis--IAD framework en_US
dc.title How Inexorable is the 'Tragedy of the Commons?' Institutional Arrangements for Changing the Social Structure of Social Dilemmas en_US
dc.type Conference Paper en_US
dc.type.published unpublished en_US
dc.subject.sector Theory en_US
dc.identifier.citationconference Distinguished Faculty Research Lecture en_US
dc.identifier.citationconfdates April 3, 1986 en_US
dc.identifier.citationconfloc Office of Research and Graduate Development, Indiana University en_US
dc.submitter.email adingman@indiana.edu en_US


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