The Tragedy of the Commons: a Theoretical-Experimental Approach

Authors

  • Juan Carlos Aguado Franco Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37467/gka-revsocial.v1.1221

Keywords:

Tragedy of the Commons, Cooperation, Altruism, Game Theory, Renewable Resources

Abstract

The exhaustion of natural resources is partly due to natural causes but is also a result of human activity. The effects of human activity depend on the type of natural resource, especially the management of biological populations. If there is free access to the resource, rivalry can to rise. For renewable resources, the rate of use or harvest must not exceed the regeneration rate, but individual rationality leads to over-exploitation. This occurs because the benefits of exploitation accrue to individuals, each of which is motivated to maximize his own use of the resource, while the costs of overexploitation are distributed between all those to whom the resource is available: it's the "Tragedy of the Commons". Prisoner's Dilemma does not to capture all the characteristics of the "Tragedy of the Commons" of renewable resources, especially the progressive scarcity of the resource, and the interaction among several people. We study in the frame of game theory laboratory experiments the "Tragedy of the Commons", to explain people behaviour in this context.

Author Biography

Juan Carlos Aguado Franco, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

Doctor en Economía y profesor del Departamento de Fundamentos del Análisis económico de la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, donde desarrolla su trabajo docente e investigador desde hace 10 años. Su dilatada experiencia docente le ha llevado a dar clase en la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Universidad Alfonso X “El Sabio”, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, y como profesor visitante en la Universidad ORT de Uruguay y la Universidad de Costa Rica. Ha recibido numerosas menciones y premios por la calidad de su docencia. Sus publicaciones y aportaciones en congresos nacionales e internacionales se cuentan por decenas. Entre sus líneas de interés e investigación destacan las centradas en el análisis microeconómico y la aplicación de la teoría de juegos en diversos ámbitos, especialmente en el comportamiento de los consumidores y en el estudio de los recursos naturales.

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Published

06-03-2012

How to Cite

Aguado Franco, J. C. (2012). The Tragedy of the Commons: a Theoretical-Experimental Approach. SOCIAL REVIEW. International Social Sciences Review Revista Internacional De Ciencias Sociales, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.37467/gka-revsocial.v1.1221

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Section

Research articles