Garrett Hardin's “The Tragedy of the Commons” (Hardin, 1968) is widely influential but fundamentally incorrect. Hardin … characterizes the commons problem as arising from the exercise of free will in a world with limited carrying capacity. Hardin …), Coase (1960), and Demsetz (1967) – shows that the commons problem arises from non-exclusive use rights. Non-exclusivity is …

We study the conditions under which effective institutions of commons management emerge in a context … that the presence of costly specialization can facilitate the emergence of effective commons-management institutions. In … rights allows groups to avoid the tragedy of the commons …