Free Riding in Cavalese

Right now we’re in Cavalese, which is a resort town in the mountains of Italy’s Trentino region. Tomorrow we’re going skiing or sledding, but today we spent the morning learning about the concept of common property. In the past, many villages in this area did not regulate the use of common resources, like the forest. This approach worked fine in close-knit communities where people all agreed upon and followed an informal set of rules governing the use of shared goods. The idea that social norms can regulate the use of common resources is known as the folk theorem.

However, this lack of regulations sometimes led to overexploitation of resources. Without rules in place, people used the land in a way that was not sustainable. Additionally, it could encourage free riding, which is when people benefit from something without putting their fair share of work into it. For example, someone who picks vegetables from a shared field even though they didn’t spend any time planting or caring for the crops would be free riding. In order to combat these issues, some communities decided to create a charters, which were institutions that determined how shared land should be used and punished those who broke the rules.

Although free riding is generally frowned upon, I have to admit I’ve done some free riding on this trip to Italy. Most of my classmates brought their laptops with them so they could read articles for the course, post blogs, and check in with friends and family back home. Unfortunately, my laptop broke last semester and I don’t have a new one yet, so I wasn’t able to bring one along. Instead, I’ve been borrowing my friends’ computers every time I want to update my blog, use facebook, or check my email. I get the benefit of using a computer whenever I need one without the cost of carrying a heavy laptop in my luggage or worrying that it might get lost or stolen while I’m in Italy.

The picture included shows me with my friend Colton, who was kind enough to lend me his computer so I could post this update.