ABSTRACT
Depletion of resources is a serious global concern. Fisheries on both Canadian coasts have, at various times, been closed and thousands of people put out of work. Excessive numbers of whale watchers have led to a reduction in the number of whales returning to – and consequently declining biodiversity of – the Bay of Fundy (Hawkins, 1998: B1). Groundwater in the American Midwest is used faster than it is replenished. Fuelwood lots and grazing lands suffer from severe depletion around the world. To understand that these issues are a problem, one need only look at the socio-economic impacts upon the relevant population of users. To understand how these issues became a problem, however, the interaction between individuals, groups, and the resource must be examined. In this chapter, the specific effects of costly monitoring of individuals and the role of endogenous sanctions are examined.
