The governance of natural resources used by many individuals in common is an issue of increasing concern to policy analysts. Both state control and privatisation of resources have been advocated, but neither the state nor the market have been uniformly successful in solving common pool resource problems. Offering a critique of the foundations of policy analysis as applied to natural resources, Elinor Ostrom here provides a unique body of empirical data to explore conditions under which common pool resource problems have been satisfactorily or unsatisfactorily solved. Dr Ostrom first describes three models most frequently used as the foundation for recommending state or market solutions. She then outlines theoretical and empirical alternatives to these models in order to illustrate the diversity of possible solutions. In the following chapters she uses institutional analysis to examine different ways - both successful and unsuccessful - of governing the commons. In contrast to the proposition of the tragedy of the commons argument, common pool problems sometimes are solved by voluntary organisations rather than by a coercive state. Among the cases considered are communal tenure in meadows and forests, irrigation communities and other water rights, and fisheries.
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"In this ambitious, provocative, and very useful book Ostrom combines a lucid theoretical framework with a series of diverse and richly detailed case studies...she tightly reviews and critiques extant models of cooperation and collective action and argues powerfully that communities of actors are sometimes able to maintain a common resource for long periods of time without outside intervention." Contemporary Sociology
"Ostrom's book is an important contribution to the problems of Commom Property Resources that is, the lack of well-defined property rights over a certain resource. Elinor Ostrom convincingly shows that there are many different viable mixtures between public and private, in particular self-organization and self-governance by the users of the common property resource. The book makes fascinating reading, particularly as it is well written." Bruno S. Frey, Kyklos
"This is an important book that deserves to be read widely in the policy community as well as the scholarly community....this analysis leaves us with provocative questions whose examination promises to broaden and deepen our understanding of human/environment relationships at many levels." Oran R. Young, International Environmental Affairs
"Cambridge University Press has published an impressive series called 'The Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions.' Elinor Ostrom, Professor of Political Science at Indiana University, has made an important contribution to the series with Governing the Commons....In large part, the book is a fascinating and detailed examination of common ownership of various natural resources." Dean Lueck, Constitutional Political Economy
"Students of common-property resource regimes will find much of great interest in the volume." Barry C. Field, Land Economics
"...timely, well-written, and a useful addition to our understanding of the challenges of natural resource management....useful for undergraduate and graduate students as well as field practitioners interested in the development of scientifically based research. It provides a firm grounding in the theoretical underpinnings that should guide empirical investigations....Ostrom offers a unique source of information on the realities of resource management institutions coupled with the challenge for continued examination of institutions in order to develop better ways to address the CPR challenge." Gordon L. Brady, Southern Economic Journal
"Ostrom's book makes an important contribution to the emerging literature on analytical institutional economics. Her work reminds us that analysis of institutions and institutional change is an important aspect of a broader political economy that underlies meaningful economic policy advice." Daniel W. Bromley, Journal of Economic Literature
"This is the most influential book in the last decade on thinking about the commons. For those involved with small communities...located in one nation, whose lives depend on a common pool of renewable resources....Governing the Commons has been the intellectual field guide." Whole Earth
"A classic by one of the best-known thinkers on communities and commons." Yes! A Journal of Positive Futures
"Ostrom's book is an important contribution to the problems of Commom Property Resources that is, the lack of well-defined property rights over a certain resource. Elinor Ostrom convincingly shows that there are many different viable mixtures between public and private, in particular self-organization and self-governance by the users of the common property resource. The book makes fascinating reading, particularly as it is well written." Bruno S. Frey, Kyklos
"This is an important book that deserves to be read widely in the policy community as well as the scholarly community....this analysis leaves us with provocative questions whose examination promises to broaden and deepen our understanding of human/environment relationships at many levels." Oran R. Young, International Environmental Affairs
"Cambridge University Press has published an impressive series called 'The Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions.' Elinor Ostrom, Professor of Political Science at Indiana University, has made an important contribution to the series with Governing the Commons....In large part, the book is a fascinating and detailed examination of common ownership of various natural resources." Dean Lueck, Constitutional Political Economy
"Students of common-property resource regimes will find much of great interest in the volume." Barry C. Field, Land Economics
"...timely, well-written, and a useful addition to our understanding of the challenges of natural resource management....useful for undergraduate and graduate students as well as field practitioners interested in the development of scientifically based research. It provides a firm grounding in the theoretical underpinnings that should guide empirical investigations....Ostrom offers a unique source of information on the realities of resource management institutions coupled with the challenge for continued examination of institutions in order to develop better ways to address the CPR challenge." Gordon L. Brady, Southern Economic Journal
"Ostrom's book makes an important contribution to the emerging literature on analytical institutional economics. Her work reminds us that analysis of institutions and institutional change is an important aspect of a broader political economy that underlies meaningful economic policy advice." Daniel W. Bromley, Journal of Economic Literature
"This is the most influential book in the last decade on thinking about the commons. For those involved with small communities...located in one nation, whose lives depend on a common pool of renewable resources....Governing the Commons has been the intellectual field guide." Whole Earth
"A classic by one of the best-known thinkers on communities and commons." Yes! A Journal of Positive Futures
Book Description
Neither the state nor the market have been successful in solving common pool resource problems. This study accordingly analyses communal interests in land, irrigation communities, fisheries etc. and proposes alternative solutions.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am surprised that there's little review activity going on for this book, even though the author has won the "fake nobel" prize (i.e. the "price in memory of alfred nobel" for economy). Regardless of what one thinks about the fake nobel, the author is certainly someone whose achievements deserve recognition. This book is a pedagogical summary of the important work that she's done in relation to "Common Pool Resources".
It is written in an accurate and scientific style that never falls into the jargon trap. This gives a vivid impression of the author as someone open minded and keeping her thinking clear and focused on the facts.
After an introduction on her intentions and method, she presents the so called "tragedy of the commons" (and its close kin, the "prisoner's dilemna") as a situation where theoretical thinking sees central intervention as the only way to break the (self)destructive behaviour predicted and often observed: everyone tries to appropriate as much as they can get away from common resources until those resources collapse and everyone becomes worse off. She then calls attention to several field situations where individuals have been able to organize themselves to avoid falling into this trap without external intervention. The situations described are as diverse as mountain terrain in Switzerland, irrigation land in Spain and the Philippines or even fisheries in Turkey. Ostrom provides a detailed description of the salient features of these institutions before highlighting the common ground and the differences. She points out that these examples have institutions that have been stable for a long time and that we're therefore unsure about the process through which the institutions themselves were created.
She then turns to more recent examples of successful institutions managing CPR where information is available regarding the institutional development that led to the current situation. The key examples are water management institutions in California and a project to improve local irrigation communities in Sri Lanka. She finally contrasts successful institutions with failing ones, with a view to identify whether factors that may have been thought of as being factors of success may not actually be irrelevant.
The overall message of the book is that it is possible for local communities to take care of themselves and to efficiently manage CPR. It is not easy though and certain type of government intervention actually makes the matter worse. Likewise privatization is also not a one size fits all solution. So she's basically highlighting the need to consider each situation on its own, without ideological glasses. She provides a framework to analyze each specific case, but certainly avoids over-generalization.
The world needs more people like Ostrom, (i.e. lucid thinkers genuinely interested to understand what goes on). Too bad the typical social "scientist" seems to be more interested to bend the facts to fit to his theories and ideologies.
It is written in an accurate and scientific style that never falls into the jargon trap. This gives a vivid impression of the author as someone open minded and keeping her thinking clear and focused on the facts.
After an introduction on her intentions and method, she presents the so called "tragedy of the commons" (and its close kin, the "prisoner's dilemna") as a situation where theoretical thinking sees central intervention as the only way to break the (self)destructive behaviour predicted and often observed: everyone tries to appropriate as much as they can get away from common resources until those resources collapse and everyone becomes worse off. She then calls attention to several field situations where individuals have been able to organize themselves to avoid falling into this trap without external intervention. The situations described are as diverse as mountain terrain in Switzerland, irrigation land in Spain and the Philippines or even fisheries in Turkey. Ostrom provides a detailed description of the salient features of these institutions before highlighting the common ground and the differences. She points out that these examples have institutions that have been stable for a long time and that we're therefore unsure about the process through which the institutions themselves were created.
She then turns to more recent examples of successful institutions managing CPR where information is available regarding the institutional development that led to the current situation. The key examples are water management institutions in California and a project to improve local irrigation communities in Sri Lanka. She finally contrasts successful institutions with failing ones, with a view to identify whether factors that may have been thought of as being factors of success may not actually be irrelevant.
The overall message of the book is that it is possible for local communities to take care of themselves and to efficiently manage CPR. It is not easy though and certain type of government intervention actually makes the matter worse. Likewise privatization is also not a one size fits all solution. So she's basically highlighting the need to consider each situation on its own, without ideological glasses. She provides a framework to analyze each specific case, but certainly avoids over-generalization.
The world needs more people like Ostrom, (i.e. lucid thinkers genuinely interested to understand what goes on). Too bad the typical social "scientist" seems to be more interested to bend the facts to fit to his theories and ideologies.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By P. J. Krause
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Many discussions and "authorities" on the management of common pool resources (CPR) refer to the "tragedy of the commons" as something that is inescapable - that whenever there is a public common pool resource (alpine meadows, fisheries, groundwater,...) humans will always act collectively to over-exploit it. Indeed, this is not the case, as Elinor Ostrom clearly describes. Instead, she analyses a range of case studies where local institutions have been developed to successfully manage CPR's, sometimes for a thousand years or more. At the end of the book she proposes a framework for the analysis of CPRs, which should be required reading for anyone who wishes to put in place, or see put in place, an effective management strategy for a CPR.
Most of the CPRs she has studied are within reasonably well-scoped geographic regions. She does offer guidance on, and examples of, scaling their management through nested enterprises. However, further work is needed to extend this framework to the management of global CPRs.
Although targeted more at the academic community, this book is very clearly written and quite accessible. I really wish it could be much more widely read. If you are interested in this book, do also take a look at Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems and Navigating Social-Ecological Systems: Building Resilience for Complexity and Change.
Most of the CPRs she has studied are within reasonably well-scoped geographic regions. She does offer guidance on, and examples of, scaling their management through nested enterprises. However, further work is needed to extend this framework to the management of global CPRs.
Although targeted more at the academic community, this book is very clearly written and quite accessible. I really wish it could be much more widely read. If you are interested in this book, do also take a look at Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems and Navigating Social-Ecological Systems: Building Resilience for Complexity and Change.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Once you tune in to some academic jargon, this book is fascinating.
The firm and government have their theorists and avatars a-plenty (Smith, Coase, Hume, Hobbes, Marx, Rousseau). There's another form of economic organisation sandwiched between the two: the Commons. Or, in the jargon, Common Pool Resources. Ostrom is a brilliant guide to how these CPRs work, or sometimes don't work. Most people, from left and right of the political spectrum, seem to think CPRs don't work, based on Hardin's famous phrase of the "tragedy of the Commons". But in fact many CPRs are older than the states that enfold them, and have been working for over 1,000 years. If you live in an English village you may find that your house deeds include the right to pannage, coppice, charcoal...
Ostrom describes a range of cases: forests, irrigation and fishing are the classic examples. She derives (chapter 1, cart before the horse, this is academe) some general features and rules for successful CPRs. She describes successes and failures in subsequent chapters, from a world wide set of examples. Her rules seem robust (I'm not qualified to say) but she may be underemphasising some points. To criticise:
1. If CPRs which fail are characterised by over exploitation, CPRs which last may imply systematic underuse. It's inconceivable that a durable equilibrium would be perfect, no?
2. Monitoring and sanctioning are crucial in Ostrom's view, to prevent free riders. She says the costs of these must be low. Yes, but the costs could also be quite high if the costs of alternative organisation such as privatisation, division and nationalisation are even higher.
3. Ostrom discusses the question of changing the rules of the CPR to accomodate weather, rainfall, etc. It's excellent but does it cover revolutionary change? Swiss and Japanese foresters have adapted to the chain saw, Spanish farmers have adapted to the water pump. Newfoundland inshore fishers have simply banned new technology while the Common Fisheries Policy is a notorious scandal.
4. CPR institutions are only sort-of democratic (exclusiveness is a must) and one-man-one-vote probably is a rarity.
These four questions make me fear that there is a bureaucrat sharpening his pencil somewhere...
Common Pool Resources, despite the jargon, are wonderful. Once you start to examine them, they seem to be everywhere: church congregations, cricket clubs, PTAs, Mt Blanc, coral reefs, even maybe sharia courts in non-muslim countries.
This is an eye-opening book, worth the effort. Elinor Ostrom richly deserves her "Nobel" prize. If I could I'd give her the Freedom of the City and the right to herd bankers over London Bridge as well.
The firm and government have their theorists and avatars a-plenty (Smith, Coase, Hume, Hobbes, Marx, Rousseau). There's another form of economic organisation sandwiched between the two: the Commons. Or, in the jargon, Common Pool Resources. Ostrom is a brilliant guide to how these CPRs work, or sometimes don't work. Most people, from left and right of the political spectrum, seem to think CPRs don't work, based on Hardin's famous phrase of the "tragedy of the Commons". But in fact many CPRs are older than the states that enfold them, and have been working for over 1,000 years. If you live in an English village you may find that your house deeds include the right to pannage, coppice, charcoal...
Ostrom describes a range of cases: forests, irrigation and fishing are the classic examples. She derives (chapter 1, cart before the horse, this is academe) some general features and rules for successful CPRs. She describes successes and failures in subsequent chapters, from a world wide set of examples. Her rules seem robust (I'm not qualified to say) but she may be underemphasising some points. To criticise:
1. If CPRs which fail are characterised by over exploitation, CPRs which last may imply systematic underuse. It's inconceivable that a durable equilibrium would be perfect, no?
2. Monitoring and sanctioning are crucial in Ostrom's view, to prevent free riders. She says the costs of these must be low. Yes, but the costs could also be quite high if the costs of alternative organisation such as privatisation, division and nationalisation are even higher.
3. Ostrom discusses the question of changing the rules of the CPR to accomodate weather, rainfall, etc. It's excellent but does it cover revolutionary change? Swiss and Japanese foresters have adapted to the chain saw, Spanish farmers have adapted to the water pump. Newfoundland inshore fishers have simply banned new technology while the Common Fisheries Policy is a notorious scandal.
4. CPR institutions are only sort-of democratic (exclusiveness is a must) and one-man-one-vote probably is a rarity.
These four questions make me fear that there is a bureaucrat sharpening his pencil somewhere...
Common Pool Resources, despite the jargon, are wonderful. Once you start to examine them, they seem to be everywhere: church congregations, cricket clubs, PTAs, Mt Blanc, coral reefs, even maybe sharia courts in non-muslim countries.
This is an eye-opening book, worth the effort. Elinor Ostrom richly deserves her "Nobel" prize. If I could I'd give her the Freedom of the City and the right to herd bankers over London Bridge as well.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Noble Prize winner’s must useful book for the non-specialist
Ostrom explains her concept of the institutions needed to manage common pool resources e.g. fisheries, water supplies, and alpine grazing. Read more
Published 2 months ago by MR RICHARD MORLAND
5.0 out of 5 stars
great book, fast delivery
The book is great. The edition is basic, but the content is what matters. The delivery was fast.
Published on 1 Feb 2009 by M. K. Kim
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