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Elinor Ostrom and the robust political economy of common-pool resources

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  • PENNINGTON, MARK

Abstract

This paper situates Elinor Ostrom's work on common-pool resource management in the tradition of ‘robust political economy’. Ostrom's analysis of bottom-up governance institutions is shown to recognise that such arrangements though imperfect are better placed to cope with bounded rationality and incentive compatibility problems in the management of smaller- and medium-scale common-pool resources. While Ostrom's work provides an analytical framework to explain the success of these arrangements, however, the paper argues that it lacks a robust account of when, if ever, top-down governance arrangements are to be preferred.

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  • Pennington, Mark, 2013. "Elinor Ostrom and the robust political economy of common-pool resources," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(4), pages 449-468, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:9:y:2013:i:04:p:449-468_00
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    2. Sanderson, Marie & Allen, Pauline & Moran, Valerie & McDermott, Imelda & Osipovic, Dorota, 2020. "Agreeing the allocation of scarce resources in the English NHS: Ostrom, common pool resources and the role of the state," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    3. Tortia, Ermanno C., 2017. "The firm as a common. The case of the accumulation and use of capital resources in co-operative enterprises," MPRA Paper 76735, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    7. Jordan K. Lofthouse & Roberta Q. Herzberg, 2023. "The Continuing Case for a Polycentric Approach for Coping with Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-24, February.
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