Scenario: Consider the tragedy of the commons problem. Suppose two firms (Row Inc. and Colm Inc.) are involved in a production process that exploits a natural resource. Each firm has two options: 1 and 2. The matrix below shows the game matrix for these two firms. The first number listed in each cell is the payoff to Row Inc., and the second number listed is the payoff to Colm Inc.

-Refer to the scenario above.Considering the tragedy of the commons that these two firms are involved in,Strategy 1 is ________,and Strategy 2 is ________.
A) to pollute the natural resource; not to pollute the natural resource
B) not to pollute the natural resource; to pollute the natural resource
C) pay a low fee to use the natural resource; pay a high fee to use the natural resource
D) pay a high fee to use the natural resource; pay a low fee to use the natural resource

Question

Scenario: Consider the tragedy of the commons problem. Suppose two firms (Row Inc. and Colm Inc.) are involved in a production process that exploits a natural resource. Each firm has two options: 1 and 2. The matrix below shows the game matrix for these two firms. The first number listed in each cell is the payoff to Row Inc., and the second number listed is the payoff to Colm Inc.
 
-Refer to the scenario above.Considering the tragedy of the commons that these two firms are involved in,Strategy 1 is ________,and Strategy 2 is ________.
A) to pollute the natural resource; not to pollute the natural resource 
B) not to pollute the natural resource; to pollute the natural resource 
C) pay a low fee to use the natural resource; pay a high fee to use the natural resource 
D) pay a high fee to use the natural resource; pay a low fee to use the natural resource

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The tragedy of the commons refers to a situation where individuals acting independently and rationally according to each's self-interest behave contrary to the best interests of the whole group by depleting or spoiling a shared resource. In this context, Strategy 1, to pollute the natural resource, represents the self-interested action that leads to the tragedy, while Strategy 2, not to pollute the natural resource, represents the cooperative action that avoids the tragedy.

Scenario: Consider the Tragedy of the Commons Problem