The Tragedy of the Uncommons

Brown Matthew () and Cardiff-Hicks Brianna ()
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Brown Matthew: Department of Business Administration, University of Illinois-Springfield, Springfield, IL, USA
Cardiff-Hicks Brianna: Cornerstone Research Inc., Menlo Park, CA, USA

Review of Law & Economics, 2018, vol. 14, issue 2, 22

Abstract: We develop and discuss a new institutional concept, “the tragedy of the uncommons,” to describe the inefficient use of resources that are both non-substitutable and transitory. This situation is not captured by the tragedy of the commons/anti-commons literature or other theories. We highlight the crucial and under-appreciated assumptions about value over time of the tragedy of the commons and anticommons. We also introduce the concepts of “under” and “over-ownership” to the bundle of rights theory of property clarifying weaknesses in the literature to help better understand how institutions can yield efficient resource preservation.

Keywords: property rights; Tragedy of the Commons; preservation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1515/rle-2016-0011

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