The Tragedy of the Uncommons

We develop and discuss a new institutional concept, "the tragedy of the uncommons," to describe the inefficient use of resources that are both nonsubstitutable and transitory. This situation is not captured by the tragedy of the commons/anti-commons literature or other theories. We highlight the crucial and under-appreciated assumptions about value over time of the tragedy of the commons and anticommons. We also introduce the concepts of "under" and "over-ownership" to the bundle of rights theory of property clarifying weaknesses in the literature to help better understand how institutions can yield efficient resource preservation.