Which of the following resources is LEAST likely to suffer from a tragedy of the commons?

Question

Which of the following resources is LEAST likely to suffer from a tragedy of the commons?

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

When evaluating which resource is least likely to suffer from a tragedy of the commons, we need to compare how rival and non-excludable the resources are, as well as how easily access can be controlled.
Option 1: A downloadable e-book hosted on a public website. This is a digital good that can be restricted through access controls (e.g., login, payment, licensing), and each additional download does not reduce the availability for others in a meaningful way. In other words, it is largely non-rival and excludable, so it does not fit the classic model of a common-pool resource that suffers from overuse when access is unregulated.
Option 2: An open-access river used by many factories for wastewater discharge. This is a textbook common-pool resource: it is rival in consumption (pollution and water quality degrade as more waste is dumped) and difficult to exclude, leading to potential overuse and degradation if not properly managed.
Option 3: A shared bike lane during peak commuting hours. While not a traditional resource like a forest or water body, it experiences congestion and safety risks when many users share the space. This can exhibit tragedy-like dynamics through overuse or misbehavior, especially if capacity is limited and rules are not enforced, though it is more a case of congestion externalities than classic rivalrous extraction.
Option 4: A groundwater aquifer shared by multiple farms. This is another classic common-pool resource: groundwater is often non-excludable and rivalrous, since pumping by one farm lowers the available groundwater for others, potentially leading to over-extraction and long-term scarcity unless governed by usage rules.
Option 5: A public park with limited space during holidays. Public parks can face crowding and environmental impact when demand exceeds capacity. While parks are public goods and can suffer from overuse, they are not as pure a common-pool resource as something like a river or groundwater. Yet they still can experience depletion of quality or enjoyment if not managed, especially during peak times.
In summary, the downloadable e-book stands out as the resource least prone to tragedy of the commons due to its digital, excludable, and largely non-rival nature, whereas the other options involve real shared spaces or resources where overuse by multiple actors can degrade the resource unless governance mechanisms are in place.

Which of the following resources is LEAST likely to suffer from a tragedy of the commons?

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