Comparing and Explaining the Success of a Common Endowed with Different Degrees of Sanctioning

Abstract

"Commons are institutions that induce a kind of social dilemma, a 'situation in which private interests are at odds with the collective interests'. Often a group of members manage a common pool resource like fish, meadow, forest or water. The members of a common are competitors in use: What one user takes affects the chances for other users. Under the assumption of rational actors game-theoretical analyses of such commons prescribe an overuse of the resource for a large and relevant class of situations. There are static and dynamic environments."