Hétérogénéité sociale et gestion des ressources communes

Economists have viewed the presence of externalities and other market failures as leading to a private equilibrium that would not be Pareto optimal. In the exploitation of common-pool resources, this would lead to the 'tragedy of the commons'. In dealing with the 'tragedy of the commons', the common solutions promote either state or market involvement. However, the State-market solution to social dilemmas fails to recognize that individuals in a group or a community interact in social context. This thesis explores the role of social heterogeneity in collective action among communities. This is evident in the case of the social dilemmas associated with natural resources. We propose models of compliance (threshold model, static game, evolutionary game) that allow for the existence of a social norm. The impact of the social norm on pubic policy towards externalities is examined.