Tragedy of the Commons

The article "Can Free Market Economies Boost Amazonian Land Rights?" describes the issues that indigenous communities are having with commercial fishermen who steal their food. Since the resources have no designated owner, people are free to take as much as they want; the "Tragedy of the Commons" describes this phenomenon, where it is both rational to take as much of the resource as you want and irrational to drain the source of food. To solve this issue, Hernando de Soto suggests giving property rights to the indigenous people, but some people worry that private ownership would make them liable to being bought out by big businesses.

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Another example: Indonesian Reef Fish

This article talks about another common access resource: Indonesia's reef fish, which are quickly becoming less and less abundant because of the high demand from South China and Hong Kong, at a rate of 30% per year. This is irrational, since the fishermen's usage of unconventional farming methods is setting them up for starvation in the future. Organizations are trying to educate fishermen, but it seems without proper government manage or property rights, the Indonesian reef fish is doomed for extinction.

Examples of Government Intervention

1) Indirect Taxes: "Indirect Tax Becomes Levy of Choice for Governments"

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d1957616-cdf4-11e3-9dfd-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3FZdi8aOW

In this article, Houlder discusses the rise in indirect taxes across the world, with over 13 countries increasing their indirect taxes with none cutting them. It seems that governments around the world are finding them one of the most efficient ways to increase revenue, for reasons like low cost of collection. This is in line with a trend of aiming or more transparency with taxes. However, with a variety of amendments made to the laws regarding income tax, the process of recording it is becoming increasingly complex.

2) Subsidies: "UK Cleared to Heavily Subsidize $39B Nuclear Plant"

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/uk-cleared-heavily-subsidize-39b-nuclear-plant-26038633

This article describes the EU's approval for Britain's bid to subsidize a new nuclear plant, despite arguments from people questioning it's hefty price tag. To make this decision, the EU ensured the subsidy wouldn't distort the energy market (a problem with subsidies is that they often negatively impact the product of any competitors). This subsidy will ensure the investors of the plant will break even, especially since the past few plants have all failed financially leading analysts to claim their usage is impossible without subsidies from the government. The only problem is environmentalists are furious that billions of taxpayer dollars are being used to fund an arguably nonrenewable, "dirty" source of energy.

3) Price Controls: "Panama's President-Elects Plans Price Controls on Basic Foods"

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-05-06/news/sns-rt-us-panama-election-20140424_1_price-controls-panama-city-basic-foods

In order to lower the costs of basic "basket food necessities" (such as rice, cheese, and meat) Panama's new President is planning on applying price controls to 22 different food items, a policy change that appears to be specifically aimed at the outgoing President, who was a supermarket tycoon. It is estimated that these price controls can save the people of Panama $600 million! These moves are being made to combat the leaps in prices that food and drinks are making, contrary to inflation and the rest of the market (due to Panama's informal economy).