Question

Consider an open-access resource such as an ocean fishery as compared to a common pool resource from which a fixed number of individuals can draw. Why is the common pool resource less likely to be overused than the open access resource?

Answer 1

Common pool resources have limited accessibility either via cost or size. For example, only people living in or close to a forest can extract natural resources from it economically. For others, the cost of transportation to the forest is too high. Thus, since only limited people can access the forest, the accessibility to it is limited. Since only limited number of people access these resources, the only scenario where they are overused is when there is large demand for the resource, and the people with access to it extract it in huge amounts to sell it, thus leading to overuse. There are however laws in place for most forests in order to protect them from such an overuse, thus making it even less likely for overuse

On the other hand, open-access resources like ocean fisheries are accessible to large number of people. These regions are generally not protected by laws, so generally anyone can access them. Open oceans also fall under international territory, making it available to the international community. This combined with the high demand for fish all over the world means that a large number of people are encouraged to access, which makes it vulnerable to overuse.

In short, open access resources are accessible by larger proportion of the population, making them more sustainable to overuse, whereas access to common pool resources is restricted by cost or other factors, making them less likely to be overused.