THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS REVISITED - IDENTIFYING BEHAVIORAL PRINCIPLES

The theme of Hardin's renowned 'The Tragedy of the Commons' is that th e common-pool resource is dissipated to the level where the average va lue of extraction equals the wage rate in the long run when the number of appropriators is unlimited. Yet experimental results and rapid def orestation in tropical countries follow a contrasting pattern: even th ough the number of appropriators is limited, the common-pool resource is dissipated more than the Nash equilibrium predicts. First, given th ese market or experimental observations, we identify two behavioral pr inciples: share maximization and difference maximization. Second, we c haracterize these principles at Nash equilibrium.