Tragedy of the Anticommons: Can You Talk Your Way Out of A Tragedy?

This paper examines the Tragedy of the Anticommons, a dilemma that arises when fragmented ownership of resources prevents their optimal use. This is due to biases where people favour large portions of something over small portions of something (more-is-better heuristic) despite the portions being complementary. The study explores whether communication among stakeholders can mitigate the “more-is-better” heuristic, which is one of the drivers behind the Tragedy of the Anticommons. Participants engaged in a laboratory-based bargaining game, with sellers assigned unequal shares of a resource (Seller1; Seller2). Both Seller 1 and Seller 2 could indicate their selling-price (WTA), and the one buyer could offer their buy-price (WTP). Results indicate that participants (sellers and buyers) valuated resources from sellers with more resources higher, indicate of a moreis-better bias. Introducing communication between sellers reduced this bias, but not significantly. This implies that...Show moreThis paper examines the Tragedy of the Anticommons, a dilemma that arises when fragmented ownership of resources prevents their optimal use. This is due to biases where people favour large portions of something over small portions of something (more-is-better heuristic) despite the portions being complementary. The study explores whether communication among stakeholders can mitigate the “more-is-better” heuristic, which is one of the drivers behind the Tragedy of the Anticommons. Participants engaged in a laboratory-based bargaining game, with sellers assigned unequal shares of a resource (Seller1; Seller2). Both Seller 1 and Seller 2 could indicate their selling-price (WTA), and the one buyer could offer their buy-price (WTP). Results indicate that participants (sellers and buyers) valuated resources from sellers with more resources higher, indicate of a moreis-better bias. Introducing communication between sellers reduced this bias, but not significantly. This implies that communication can partially reduce reliance on biases such as the “more-is-better” heuristic, although not significantly when communication between sellers is limited to one sentence of simultaneous communication per round. Economic gains from communication were not statistically significant either. These findings imply that communication, as investigated in the current research, cannot sufficiently solve the negative effects of fragmented ownership. Future research could investigate alternative communication forms and external factors that could alleviate the Tragedy of the Anticommons.Show less

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Tragedy of the Anticommons: Can You Talk Your Way Out of A Tragedy?