Question 1

Small tribes may be able to solve the tragedy of the commons by:
A) subsidizing the activity that creates the tragedy.
B) using social norms to punish and ostracize those that overuse a common resource.
C) setting price controls below the equilibrium price to clear the market.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

Small tribes may not have the resources to subsidize or set price controls on activities that create a tragedy of the commons. However, they can rely on social norms and community pressure to punish and ostracize those who overuse a common resource. This can be an effective way to prevent overuse without relying on external regulations or interventions.

Question 2

Overutilization and lack of conservation are more likely a problem for:
A) private goods.
B) material goods.
C) goods that are not owned.
D) cows and chickens.

Accepted Answer

Goods that are not owned, such as common resources, are more prone to overutilization and lack of conservation because there is no individual incentive to manage them sustainably.

Question 3

Common resources are goods that are:
A) excludable and rival.
B) excludable but nonrival.
C) nonexcludable but rival.
D) nonexcludable and nonrival.

Accepted Answer

Common resources are nonexcludable but rival. This means that anyone can use them but their use by one person reduces the amount available for others. Examples of common resources include fish in the ocean or a public park.

Question 4

An example of a common resource would be:
A) a street light.
B) the environment.
C) clothing.
D) cable TV.

Accepted Answer

The environment is a common resource that is available to all individuals in a particular location or area. It is not owned by any one person or entity and can be used by all members of the community. Street lights, clothing, and cable TV are not necessarily common resources as they may be owned by individuals or companies and not accessible to all members of the community.

Question 5

Which of the following is the explanation for why wild animals are often hunted to the point of extinction?
A) cost-benefit analysis
B) public goods
C) tragedy of the commons
D) There is no known explanation.

Accepted Answer

Tragedy of the commons

Question 6

A common resource is:
A) likely to be overutilized.
B) a good that, when used by one person, leaves less for everyone else.
C) rival but nonexcludable.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

All of the answers are correct. A common resource is likely to be overutilized because it is a rival good, meaning that someone's use of the resource makes it less available to others. Additionally, common resources are nonexcludable, meaning it is difficult or impossible to prevent someone from using it.

Question 7

A good is nonrival if:
A) the good does not cause rivalry between the people using the good.
B) the good potentially creates rivalry between the people using the good.
C) one person's use of the good reduces the ability of another person to use the same good.
D) one person's use of the good does not reduce the ability of another person to use the same good.

Accepted Answer

A good is nonrival if one person's use of the good does not reduce the ability of another person to use the same good. This means that the good can be used by multiple people at the same time without diminishing its availability or quality for others.

Question 8

Tuna fish are being driven to extinction because of overfishing. If all the fishermen know about this, why don't they fish less to slow down the extinction?
A) The kind of fishing equipment that is used does not allow for smaller catches.
B) There is a lack of well-defined property rights over the stock of tuna fish in the sea.
C) The fishermen do not realize that their way of life will also become extinct.
D) Their governments have not considered tradable allowances as a solution.

Accepted Answer

Without well-defined property rights, there is no incentive for fishermen to fish less because their competitors could still take the remaining fish. This results in a tragedy of the commons, where everyone fishes as much as possible, leading to overfishing and the extinction of tuna fish.

Question 9

Which of the following is rival and NOT excludable?
A) cable TV
B) lobsters in the ocean
C) national defense
D) clothing

Accepted Answer

Lobsters in the ocean are rival because not everyone can catch them at the same time, but they are not excludable because it is difficult to prevent someone from catching them. Cable TV is both rival and excludable because not everyone can watch the same channel at the same time and it requires a subscription fee. National defense is non rival and non-excludable because it is a public good that benefits everyone and cannot exclude people from receiving it. Clothing is rival and excludable because once someone owns a piece of clothing, someone else cannot wear it at the same time and the owner can prevent others from wearing it.

Question 10

The tragedy of the commons is often the result of:
A) excludability and rivalry.
B) excludability and nonrivalry.
C) nonexcludability and rivalry.
D) nonexcludability and nonrivalry.

Accepted Answer

The tragedy of the commons occurs when a shared resource is nonexcludable and rivalrous, meaning that anyone can use it, and use by one person diminishes its availability to others. As a result, individuals may overuse the resource, leading to depletion or degradation, and ultimately harming everyone who relies on it.

Question 11

During the Middle Ages, many villages had areas reserved for families to take their cows or sheep to graze. All families were welcome to use this land without charge. This situation likely led to a(n):
A) tragedy of the commons.
B) finite of proportions.
C) marketable public good.
D) exhaustive equilibrium.

Accepted Answer

The situation described is typical of the tragedy of the commons, in which a shared resource (in this case, the grazing land) is depleted or destroyed because individuals act in their own self-interest rather than for the good of the group. This can result in overgrazing, soil erosion, and other environmental problems.

Question 12

Which of the following examples specifies the cause of the tragedy of the common?
A) People like to eat chicken so demand for chicken has significantly increased.
B) The supply of chicken is plentiful, causing the profit margin of selling chicken to decrease.
C) Tuna in the ocean are not privately owned so fishermen have an incentive to overfish.
D) The supply of tuna is rare, creating high profit margins and incentives for fishermen to underfish tuna.

Accepted Answer

Choice C specifies the cause of the tragedy of the commons, as it explains how the lack of private ownership of tuna in the ocean creates an incentive for fishermen to overfish. Choices A and B do not address the tragedy of the commons at all, and choice D suggests a different problem (underfishing) than the tragedy of the commons (overuse).

Question 13

Which of the following scenarios best describes a tragedy of the commons problem?
A) Neighborhood residents discover strawberry plants in the flower beds at the city park.
B) Illegal immigrants who do not pay taxes benefit from tax-funded police patrols.
C) Pacifists become forced riders in tax hikes to fund national defense plans.
D) There is overcrowding on otherwise nice public beaches.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following scenarios best describes...

Question 14

The tragedy of the commons applies especially strongly to resources like fish, forests, and agricultural land because these resources:
A) are highly demanded.
B) must be carefully maintained to remain useful.
C) are more precious than others.
D) are scarce.

Accepted Answer

These resources require careful management to prevent overuse and depletion, which is the essence of the tragedy of the commons.

Question 15

Which of the following is an example of the tragedy of the commons?
A) Tuna in the ocean are being over harvested because it is difficult to prevent anyone from fishing for tuna.
B) Personal computers have become a commonplace appliance in many homes, causing an expedited tragedy of technology.
C) There is an increasing threat to wildlife due to habitat loss in national forests.
D) Television's popularity has become a common tragedy in our society.

Accepted Answer

Tragedy of the commons refers to the overuse or exploitation of a resource that is commonly owned and accessible to everyone. In this case, the overfishing of tuna in the ocean is a tragic example of exploiting a commonly owned resource, causing it to become depleted.

Question 16

Which of the following scenarios describes how a tragedy of the commons problem occurs?
A) A radio station goes out of service because it cannot raise enough money from advertising.
B) Illegal immigrants who do not pay taxes benefit from tax-funded school systems.
C) Farmers harvest deer out of season rather than pay the high price of beef.
D) The establishment of tradable pollution allowances helps reduce pollution.

Accepted Answer

The tragedy of the commons occurs when individuals, acting in their own self-interest, deplete or spoil shared resources, as seen when farmers overharvest deer, leading to resource depletion.

Question 17

The tragedy of the commons is the tendency for any good which is:
A) rival and excludable to be underused and overmaintained.
B) nonrival and nonexcludable to be underused and overmaintained.
C) rival and nonexcludable to be overused and undermaintained.
D) nonrival and excludable to be overused and undermaintained.

Accepted Answer

The tragedy of the commons is said to occur when a resource or good is both rival and nonexcludable. This means that it can be used by anyone and its use by one person diminishes the availability or quality of the resource for others. In such a scenario, individuals may act in their self-interest and overuse the resource, leading to depletion and degradation. This is why the resource is overused and undermaintained. Option A and D do not accurately describe the tragedy of the commons, and option B refers to a situation where a good is not fully utilized due to lack of private incentives or benefits.

Question 18

During the Middle Ages, many villages had areas reserved for families to take their cows or sheep to graze. All families were welcome to use this land without charge. The land for grazing can be characterized as a:
A) public good.
B) private good.
C) natural resource.
D) common resource.

Accepted Answer

The use of the land for grazing was open to all families in the village, indicating that it was a common resource. It was not owned or controlled by any individual or group, and its use by one family did not prevent its use by others.

Question 19

The tragedy of the commons occurs when a good is:
A) rival in consumption and excludable.
B) rival in consumption and not excludable.
C) not rival in consumption and excludable.
D) neither rival in consumption nor excludable.

Accepted Answer

The tragedy of the commons is a situation where individuals, acting in their own self-interest, use a shared resource (such as a pasture or a fishery) to the point where it becomes depleted. In this situation, the good is both rival in consumption (meaning that one person's use of the resource reduces the amount available to others) and not excludable (meaning that it is difficult or impossible to prevent someone from using the resource). Option B is the only choice that describes a good with these characteristics.

Question 20

Tuna in the ocean is a common resource because:
A) it is difficult to prevent people from fishing in the ocean and every time someone catches tuna there is less tuna for someone else.
B) all tuna are identical (i.e., a homogenous good) and sold in competitive markets.
C) there is an abundance of tuna and no one fisherman can affect the market equilibrium output.
D) None of the answers is correct.

Accepted Answer

Tuna in the ocean is a common resource because it is difficult to prevent people from fishing in the ocean and every time someone catches tuna there is less tuna for someone else. This creates a tragedy of the commons where individuals have an incentive to overfish and eventually deplete the resource.

Quiz 19: Public Goods and the Tragedy of the Commons

Small tribes may be able to solve the tragedy of the commons by:

Overutilization and lack of conservation are more likely a problem for:

Common resources are goods that are:

An example of a common resource would be:

Which of the following is the explanation for why wild animals are often hunted to the point of extinction?

A common resource is:

A good is nonrival if:

Tuna fish are being driven to extinction because of overfishing. If all the fishermen know about this, why don't they fish less to slow down the extinction?

Which of the following is rival and NOT excludable?

The tragedy of the commons is often the result of:

During the Middle Ages, many villages had areas reserved for families to take their cows or sheep to graze. All families were welcome to use this land without charge. This situation likely led to a(n) :

Which of the following examples specifies the cause of the tragedy of the common?

Which of the following scenarios best describes a tragedy of the commons problem?

The tragedy of the commons applies especially strongly to resources like fish, forests, and agricultural land because these resources:

Which of the following is an example of the tragedy of the commons?

Which of the following scenarios describes how a tragedy of the commons problem occurs?

The tragedy of the commons is the tendency for any good which is:

During the Middle Ages, many villages had areas reserved for families to take their cows or sheep to graze. All families were welcome to use this land without charge. The land for grazing can be characterized as a:

The tragedy of the commons occurs when a good is:

Tuna in the ocean is a common resource because: