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Barrett's paradox of cooperation: A full analytical proof 30 years after

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  • Finus, Michael
  • Furini, Francesco
  • Rohrer, Anna Viktoria

Abstract

In his seminal paper, Barrett (1994) argues that international environmental agreements (IEAs) are typically not successful, which he coined "the paradox of cooperation". If the potential gains from full cooperation would be large, self-enforcing IEAs have low participation and, therefore, cannot achieve much, or, if the potential gains are small, agreements are not important, even though IEAs may enjoy large participation. This message has been reiterated by several subsequent papers. Even though these papers explain the driving forces of the paradox, the analysis of membership in stable agreements and the actual and potential gains from cooperation are still mainly based on simulations. In this paper, we provide a full analytical characterization of all items on which the paradox of cooperation is based.

Suggested Citation

  • Finus, Michael & Furini, Francesco & Rohrer, Anna Viktoria, 2024. "Barrett's paradox of cooperation: A full analytical proof 30 years after," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:128:y:2024:i:c:s0095069624001190
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2024.103045
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marrouch, Walid & Ray Chaudhuri, Amrita, 2016. "International Environmental Agreements: Doomed to Fail or Destined to Succeed? A Review of the Literature," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 9(3-4), pages 245-319, September.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Michael Finus & Francesco Furini, 2026. "Governance on Multiple Global Public Goods," Graz Economics Papers 2026-02, University of Graz, Department of Economics.
    3. Bareille, François & Soubeyran, Raphaël, 2025. "Individual versus group-level agglomeration bonuses to conserve biodiversity," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    4. Lei Zhu & Zhihao Yan & Hongbo Duan & Yongyang Cai & Xiaobing Zhang, 2025. "Long Coalition Leads to Shrink? The Roles of Tipping and Technology-Sharing in Climate Clubs," Papers 2506.16162, arXiv.org.
    5. McEvoy, David M. & McGinty, Matthew & Campoverde, David & Cherry, Todd L., 2025. "Providing global public goods using monetary deposits: Theory and experiments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods

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