The pastoral commons of the Maasai offers a case in which common ownership proved superior to private property and where the creation of property rights was a cause of the tragedy of the commons. Property rights diminished sustainable use of the commons by disrupting the complex institutional...

This article develops a model that extends the theory of clubs to the case in which a local congestible public good requires a capital facility for its pro vision in a community facing population growth. The trade-offs facing officials planning the capital facility are examined. The model offers...