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The road to extinction: Commons with Capital Markets

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  • Colin Rowat
  • Jayasri Dutta

Abstract

We study extinction in a commons problem in which agents have access to capital markets. When the commons grows more quickly than the interest rate, multiple equilibria are found for intermediate commons endowments. In one of these, welfare decreases as the resource becomes more abundant, a `re- source curse'. As marginal extraction costs become constant, market access instantly depletes the commons. Without markets - the classic environment - equilibria are unique; extinction dates and welfare increase with the endow- ment. When the endowment is either very abundant or very scarce, market access improves welfare. As marginal costs of extraction from the commons become constant, market access can reduce welfare if the subjective discount rate exceeds the world interest rate. Key words: commons, capital markets, perfect foresight, extinction, resource curse, storage

Suggested Citation

  • Colin Rowat & Jayasri Dutta, 2005. "The road to extinction: Commons with Capital Markets," Discussion Papers 05-19, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.
    • Handle: RePEc:bir:birmec:05-19
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    Cited by:

    1. Ngo Long & Gerhard Sorger, 2006. "Insecure property rights and growth: the role of appropriation costs, wealth effects, and heterogeneity," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 28(3), pages 513-529, August.
    2. Fabbri, G. & Faggian, S. & Freni, G., 2018. "Spatial resource wars: A two region example," Working Papers 2018-04, Grenoble Applied Economics Laboratory (GAEL).
    3. Francisco Alvarez-Cuadrado & Ngo Van Long, 2008. "Relative Consumption and Resource Extraction," CIRANO Working Papers 2008s-27, CIRANO.
    4. Van Long, Ngo & McWhinnie, Stephanie F., 2012. "The tragedy of the commons in a fishery when relative performance matters," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 140-154.
    5. Fabbri, Giorgio & Faggian, Silvia & Freni, Giuseppe, 2020. "Policy effectiveness in spatial resource wars: A two-region model," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    6. Colin Rowat & Jayasri Dutta, 2007. "The Commons with Capital Markets," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 31(2), pages 225-254, May.
    7. Rahmi İlkılıç, 2011. "Networks of common property resources," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 47(1), pages 105-134, May.
    8. Colin Rowat & Jayasri Dutta, 2004. "The road to extinction: commons with capital markets," Econometric Society 2004 North American Summer Meetings 145, Econometric Society.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    commons; capital markets; Washington Consensus; property rights;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C73 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Stochastic and Dynamic Games; Evolutionary Games
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • Q21 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Demand and Supply; Prices

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