AP MicroeconomicsMarket Failure & Government
Tragedy of the Commons
The tragedy of the commons is the overuse and depletion of a shared resource that is rival but non-excludable and owned by no one.
Because each user bears only part of the cost of their use, common resources like fisheries and grazing land get overexploited. It reflects a negative externality imposed on other users. Solutions include property rights, quotas, or regulation.
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