GOVERNING A GROUNDWATER COMMONS - A STRATEGIC AND LABORATORY ANALYSISOF WESTERN WATER LAW

We examine strategic behavior in groundwater depletion within the sett ing of state governance of groundwater resources in the American West. Solving a dynamic common-pool resource model for its optimal solution and its subgame perfect equilibrium provides benchmarks for behavior observed in laboratory experiments. Three forms of legal rules-common- pool depletion with a ''rule-of-capture'' to establish ownership (abso lute ownership doctrine), entry restrictions (prior appropriation doct rine), and stock quotas (correlative rights doctrine)-are examined in terms of their impact on individual strategic behavior in laboratory e xperiments.