My article of this week about market failure is this:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/10418652/Edible-mushrooms-disappearing-after-stocks-plundered-by-organised-groups.html
In the New Forest, the UK, edible mushrooms are disappearing as a number of people are picking them up. They usually come to the land in van in the early morning or late night and collecting all the edible mushrooms in the region to sell them in markets, which can be considered to be theft. Even though mushrooms generate fast, the rate of picking is so great that some spices may disappear forever in the area.
Wild mushrooms are common resource. In this situation, they are exploited unsustainably. This case is an example of the tragedy of the commons: when everyone has access to a resource if people's use of the resource affects each other's, and if they cannot prevent others from using it, all of them will exploit the resource as much as possible, then eventually the resource would be run out.
The usual solutions of the tragedy of the commons are privatising the resource, regulating access to the resource by specific law, and communal agreement for sustainable use of the resource. For this case, privatising is difficult and not effective because the land would need to be distributed as they would not know exactly where each mushroom is. Regulation is difficult because the mushrooms are spread in vast area and also the most pickers come very early or vey late. And communal agreement would not be very effective because the people who are picking the mushrooms for selling were not identified. I think it would be better solution if the government employ mushroom pickers who are the only permitted people to pick them up in certain area.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/10418652/Edible-mushrooms-disappearing-after-stocks-plundered-by-organised-groups.html
In the New Forest, the UK, edible mushrooms are disappearing as a number of people are picking them up. They usually come to the land in van in the early morning or late night and collecting all the edible mushrooms in the region to sell them in markets, which can be considered to be theft. Even though mushrooms generate fast, the rate of picking is so great that some spices may disappear forever in the area.
Wild mushrooms are common resource. In this situation, they are exploited unsustainably. This case is an example of the tragedy of the commons: when everyone has access to a resource if people's use of the resource affects each other's, and if they cannot prevent others from using it, all of them will exploit the resource as much as possible, then eventually the resource would be run out.
The usual solutions of the tragedy of the commons are privatising the resource, regulating access to the resource by specific law, and communal agreement for sustainable use of the resource. For this case, privatising is difficult and not effective because the land would need to be distributed as they would not know exactly where each mushroom is. Regulation is difficult because the mushrooms are spread in vast area and also the most pickers come very early or vey late. And communal agreement would not be very effective because the people who are picking the mushrooms for selling were not identified. I think it would be better solution if the government employ mushroom pickers who are the only permitted people to pick them up in certain area.