Self-organization in the commons

An empirically-tested model

Journal article (2017)

Authors

Amineh Ghorbani Energy and Industry
Giangiacomo Bravo Linnaeus University
Ulrich Frey Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)
Insa Theesfeld Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
Research Group
Energy and Industry
Multi-agent systems Common-pool resource systems Endogenous institutions
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Published Date

2017

Language

English

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Research Group

Energy and Industry

Abstract

A appropriate bottom-up rule system can support the sustainability of common-pool resources such as forests and fisheries. The process that leads to the developments of such institutional settings requires the considerations of multiple social, physical, and institutional factors over long time horizons. In this paper, we present the SONICOM model as a general exploratory model of CPR systems. The model can be configured to represent different CPR systems in order to explore what kind of institutional settings result in stable systems, i.e. situations where the resource and the appropriators are in a state of well-being. We use a large-N-dataset of CPR management institutions to validate the model. The results show numerous correlations between various parameters of the system such as rule compliance, social influence and resource growth rate which help explaining the process of institutional emergence as well as unveiling the conditions under which systems are stable.