52 pages • 1 hour read
Elinor OstromGoverning the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action
Elinor OstromNonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1990A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 2 Summary: “An Institutional Approach to the Study of Self-Organization and Self-Governance in CPR Situations”
Ostrom wants to know how a group of individuals “who are in an interdependent situation can organize and govern themselves to obtain continuing joint benefits when all face temptations to free ride” (29). She defines the terms that she uses in her study. A CPR is a natural or man-made resource system that is large enough to make it costly to exclude people from obtaining benefits from it. The “resource system” refers to the stock variables, while the “resource units” are what individuals use or take from the resource. As long as the average rate of withdrawal does not exceed the average rate of replenishment, the resource is sustainable. The process of withdrawing resource units is called “appropriation,” and those withdrawing them are called “appropriators.” Those who arrange for the provision of a CPR are called “providers,” and those who maintain the resource via repairs are called “producers.” CPRs differ from other collective goods in that one appropriator’s withdrawals can negatively affect others. In a pure public good, such as clean air, one’s breathing does not negatively impact the breathing of others. With CPRs, there is the potential problem of overuse.
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