Common pool/common access resources

Question 1

Define common pool resource

Answer 1

• not owned by anyone
• do not have a px
• available for everyone to use w/o payment
• ie. clean air, lakes, stable global climate

Question 2

2 main characteristics of common pool resource

Answer 2

• rivalrous

- non-excludable

Question 3

Rivalrous

Answer 3

• consumption by one person reduces availability for someone else

Question 4

Non-excludable

Answer 4

• not possible to exclude someone frm using gd/resource
• no px, no means of excluding users
• difficult to regulate use, might lead to overuse and permanent damage – mkt failure

Question 5

Tragedy of the commons (Result of rivalry and non-excludability)

Answer 5

• potential conflict % individual self-interests of producers and consumers and common/public gd
• common gds may be overused, degraded, depleted

Question 6

Sustainability

Answer 6

• ability of present generation to meet own meets

- w/o compromising ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Question 7

Problem of sustainability

Answer 7

• conflicts % economic and environmental goals
• economic – increase qty of output produced and consumed
• disregard environment, irreversible destruction
• solely focusing on environmental goals – inability of humankind to meet own needs and wants

Question 8

Threats of sustainability

Answer 8

• concept of -ve externalities of pdtn used to explain overuse of common pool resources
  1. High-income production based on fossil fuels
  2. Poverty

Question 9

High-income pdtn based on fossil fuels

Answer 9

• diff % MSC and MPC curve= external cost frm e.g. factory’s overuse of clean air/water/ozone layer
• due to dependence of fossil fuels
• cost to society of causing global warming (destroying stability of global climate)
• burning fossil fuels – external cost of overuse of C.A.R

Question 10

Poverty

Answer 10

• cannot afford modern agriculture input that preserve soil – deplete soil natural material, less productive soil
• higher birth rates and population growth, need more land for farming and feed families, cut down trees to get more land – overgrazing, soil erosion, depletion of nutrients, overuse of CAR (land)
• Not credit worthy, cannot make improvements in farming methods

Question 11

Legislation and regulation

Answer 11

• emissions standards, licenses, quotas, restrictions etc
• restrictions of emissions frm factories and indsutrial production
• restrictions on qty of logging

Question 12

Evaluation of legislation and regulation

Answer 12

• simple to put into effect and oversee
• can avoid technical difficulties of measuring MEC
• no incentive to reduce below stated lvl/switch to to other forms of energy ie biofuel, solar/wind energy

Question 13

International agreements

Answer 13

• overuse of CAR has global repercussions
• cooperation amongst gov impt in controlling and preventing -ve effects on certain CAR (ie. climate, ozone layer)
• development of new tech to mitigate GI
• policies made by national gov
• Paris Agreement (2016) – signed by 197 countries by 2019
• strengthen internal cooperation on climate change, goal of limiting global temp increase to 1.5%

Question 14

Evaluation of International Agreements

Answer 14

• ve: Not all countries are committed to the process
• e.g. US (June 2017) withdrew from Paris Agreement
• shortsighted, preoccupied with economic growth and political popularity, not pragmatic
• Difficult for developing countries to meet mitigation goals – difficult to monitor whether DC s are keeping to commitments and supporting LDC