美国经济评论century-paper6.pdf

American Economic Review 101 (February 2011): 81–108
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The Problem of the Commons:
Still Unsettled after 100 Years
By Robert N. Stavins*
The problem of the commons is more important to our lives and
thus more central to economics than a century ago when Katharine
Coman led off the first issue of the American Economic Review.
As the US and other economies have grown, the carrying capac-
ity of the planet—in regard to natural resources and environmental
­quality—has become a greater concern, particularly for common-
property and open-access resources. The focus of this article is on
some important, unsettled problems of the commons. Within the
realm of natural resources, there are special challenges associ-
ated with renewable resources, which are frequently characterized
by open-access. An important example is the degradation of open-
access fisheries. Critical commons problems are also associated with
environmental quality. A key contribution of economics has been the
development of market-based approaches to environmental protec-
tion. These instruments are key to addressing the ultimate commons
problem of the twenty-first century—global climate change. JEL
Q15, Q21, Q22, Q25, Q54 (
)
As the first decade of the twenty-first century comes to a close, the problem of
the commons is more central to economics and more important to our lives than a
century ago when Katharine Coman led off the first issue of theA