The tragedy of the anti-commons: Why decisions never seem to get made

By J. Fred Giertz
CIBM Contributor

The tragedy of the commons is a well-known problem related to poorly defined property rights. More that 40 years ago, Garret Hardin wrote a now-famous article about the problems created when no one has ownership rights over valuable resources and every person has free access. The idea comes from the medieval commons of manors where land was set aside for the use of all of the manor's inhabitants.

Shared resources such as the commons often result in overuse to the detriment of everyone concerned. Each person will use the commons without regard to the long-term consequences. Fertility of cropland will be depleted, grasslands will be overgrazed, forests depleted of game and rivers overfished. The modern version of this phenomenon is illustrated in overfishing and whaling in the oceans, misuse of water resources of lakes and rivers, the misallocation of the radio spectrum and even roadway congestion when driving is free in busy areas.

The solution to the tragedy of the commons is to allow private or government ownership of valuable resources so the owner will take into account both benefits and costs of an activity. A rational farmer will not allow farmland he owns to erode and lose fertility from overuse because it will reduce the long-term value of the asset. Government restrictions on fishing and hunting are a way of addressing the overuse problem, as are restrictions on the entry into congested national parks.

The moral of the tragedy of the commons is that well-defined ownership and control of resources is preferable to unfettered access. More recently, a related problem has been noted -- the tragedy of the anti-commons. This is a situation where so many different entities have some type of ownership rights (the ability to exclude others from the use of an asset) that it results in a virtual paralysis where valuable resources cannot be exploited effectively. For example, sometimes multiple patent and copyright claims make it very difficult to use assets effectively.

There are several relevant local examples. What could be simpler than renovating a historic structure such as the Virginia Theatre in Champaign? Though the Champaign Park District owns the theater, there are residual ownership claims such as those of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency because of the theater's historic designation. This has resulted in the ongoing controversy about whether the theater marquee should be a rectangle or triangle and whether the sign should be neon. This debate over an issue that 99 percent of the population would consider irrelevant is still unresolved after months of controversy.

Should it take 50 years to build an airport? In 1968, preliminary plans were made to locate an airport south of Chicago. This is now associated with the Peotone site. In 2010, the state attempted to assemble land for the airport even though the project had never been finally approved, meaning completion would be a least a decade away. Reasonable people differ about whether a Peotone airport is desirable, but it should not take over 40 years to make a decision.

The indecision is the result of multiple groups with varying interests and ownership claims being unable to resolve the issue. These groups include the state of Illinois, the federal government, other airports in the region, the city of Chicago, governments in the south suburban area, airlines such as American and United, advocates of high-speed rail which might serve the airport and, obviously, local landowners.

Fortunately for the Chicago metropolitan area and the entire state, O'Hare airport was able to navigate through a similar morass to expand and relocate the airport's runway system. This will allow arguably the most important economic engine in the state to remain competitive.

Finally, there is the perennial issue of the completion of Olympian Drive in Champaign County from Interstate 57 to U. S. Route 45. More than a decade after opening the expressway exit, local governments are unable to complete plans for the only east-west corridor in the congested area north of Champaign-Urbana. The city of Urbana has resorted to the unusual ploy of hiring a consulting firm to attempt to achieve consensus among the governments and the citizenry. No objection or concern appears too trivial to dismiss, so an important and useful project cannot be completed.

Participation, coordination and the consideration of competing interests are all important in reaching a final decision about public projects. No one wants a dictatorial regime such as the empire presided over by Robert Moses in New York in the 1960s and '70s where projects were undertaken with little consultation. However, the paralysis of the anti-commons can be equally troubling..

J. Fred Giertz is a professor of economics within the University of Illinois' Institute of Government and Public Affairs. He can be reached at (217) 244-4822 or jgiertz@ad.uiuc.edu.

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