Question

6. Briefly compare and contrast the policy options to manage commons or open-access resources as suggested in the videos and articles covered in this exercise as follows: List the policy options and their strengths and weaknesses. List the ethical issue(s) for each policy option. In your opinion, what policy option is best? Briefly explain why.

Answer 1

POLICY OPTION	Buyouts (Grazing example)	Subsidies (Fisherman example)	Carbon Tax
Compare	Government initiates purchases of grazing permits effectively subsidizing ranchers	Government subsidies fisherman removing incentives for unsustainable fishing	The government charges tax for emissions. Efficient companies rewarded similarly to subsidies.
Contrast	Governments take control through the buyout process and maintain ownership afterward	The government continues paying subsidies to promote sustainable practice	The government continues taxing to promote more sustainable practices
Strength	The government maintains indefinite control once the buyout has occurred	Flexibility towards subsidizing those who are in most need	The blanket policy that can be rolled out across multiply industries
Weakness	Primarily relies on voluntary buyouts. No guarantee all ranchers will want to sell	Government has to keep providing in order to keep those in need afloat	Companies with vast financial resources may not necessarily adopt more sustainable practices
Ethical Issue	Government is taking land and grazing rights from the people	Government is paying off people to promote more sustainable practices rather than directly addressing the issue	Similar issues to any tax. Richer companies tend to find ways to circumvent taxes

I think the carbon tax policy makes the most sense because it can be implemented on a very large scale across all industries and sizes of companies. The taxes if effectively used can create more sustainable outcomes and practices. Many governments don’t have the time and resources required to continually provide subsidies and buyouts.