Sustainability and the Tragedy of the Commons. A New Perspective

Lucia Ovidia Vreja (), Sergiu Balan () and Cristina Mavrodin ()
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Lucia Ovidia Vreja: The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
Sergiu Balan: The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
Cristina Mavrodin: The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

International Conference on Competitiveness of Agro-food and Environmental Economy Proceedings, 2016, vol. 5, 176-187

Abstract: The "tragedy of the commons", as part of mainstream economic theory, assumes that the selfish and rational human nature will lead to the depletion of essential resources (such as water, air, subsistence items, etc.) in the absence of well-defined property rights, formal, top-down management institutions, rules of access and exploitation. Nevertheless, the all evolutionary theory advances a new model of individual behavior, based on altruism and cooperation that could lay the foundation of new types of institutions for managing the commons for the long-term benefit of the group or society. Reviewing the relevant literature that identifies instances of cooperation and successful management of the commons, the paper brings into light the essential conditions necessary for a responsible exploitation of a common resource.

Keywords: Sustainability; tragedy of the commons; rational choice theory; evolutionary theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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