Question

In Costa Rica, only a few beaches remain that are nesting grounds for sea turtles. Some of those beaches have communities situated near them; traditionally, the local people collected the turtle eggs and sold them for their purported aphrodisiac powers. As a result, sea turtle populations became endangered. To protect the sea turtle populations, the Costa Rican government gave each family in these villages ownership of a portion of the beach to do with as the family pleases, including the harvesting and selling of sea turtle eggs. Sea turtle populations have started to increase. The economic rationale for this action has to do with the differences between public, common, and private goods. Select an example of your choosing that would display how the government could take an action (or has actually taken one) that might change how a resource would be treated in the future. Take a look at common resources (such as the turtles) and use your own example to explain the economic rationale for a positive result.