1. COMMON ACCESS Resources Pages 5/6 of handout

2. Common Access Resources/Goods
Common access resources (goods) differ from other types of resources as they possess a special combination of characteristics:
rivalrous:
use by some people reduces the availability for others. (like private goods)
non-excludable:
not possible to exclude anyone from using it. There is no price and anyone can use them without payment (like public goods) 

3. Examples Many relate to the environment
Natural resources: fossil fuels, ocean, lakes, ozone layer, forest, rain forests, biodiversity, arable land for agriculture
Wild and marine life: cows, fish, clams, etc
Case of Black Tuna; Dodo Birds  consuming faster than its reproduction (extinction)
In all cases, common access resources become a critical issue as they are used and consumed without payment at a pace that is faster than the cycle of life/reproduction, leading to serious environmental degradation, depletion, and possibly extinction
Moreover, tremendous negative consequences/ externalities to society and environment:
extinct and endangered species, soil erosion (desertification), salinization, global warming and climate change

4. Graphical Analysis
Overuse of common access resources from industrial production and high income consumption activities based on fossil fuels  external costs (depletion or extinction of wild life, ozone layer, air, etc). e.g consequences of global warming
The economic and welfare analysis is the
Negative production externalities case OR
Negative consumption externalities case

5. Common Access Resources and Sustainability
Sustainability refers to the ability of something to be maintained or preserved over time (so that future generations can also use it).
The problem of sustainability arises because of conflicts between environmental and economic goals
Economic goals involve efforts to maximize the unlimited wants based on scarce resources (it involves an increase in the quantities of output produced and consumed)
Environmental goals involve the preservation of the environment
Recent case of Bluefin tuna

6. Sustainable Development… can it be achieved?
Overuse of environmental resources in the developing economies can be an important cause of environmental destruction
Examples
Lack of modern agricultural inputs and technology to preserve the soil’s fertility, depleting minerals in soil, thus making it unproductive in the future (desertification/degredation)
Cutting down forests and trees to find more room for agriculture (together with the rising population),
Lack of clean water, irrigation systems, and sanitation
Immense waste disposal impacts the environment
 all risk the reproduction and sustainability of the environment

7. Asymmetric/Imperfect information
Pages 5/6/7/8 of handout