Goods, games, and institutions

International institutions can help to overcome the problem of supplying go ods that are difficult to restrict in terms of consumption. Yet the links b etween the characteristics of goods, the nature of strategic interaction be tween actors, and the effectiveness or need for international institutions have not been systematically treated. This article tries to remedy this gap by providing a systematic analysis of the problem of the provision of two types of goods-public goods and common pool resources (CPRs). It starts by examining the characteristics of these goods, and then derives some simple game structures that correspond to different assumptions about the costs an d benefits of these goods and variations in actors' capabilities. It then d iscusses the links between games and institutional solutions. In doing this , the authors are able to encompass previous analytical work and open up ne w avenues for empirical studies of collective action.