Identities in the Commons: The Dynamics of Norms and Social Capital.

This paper provides a formal analysis of the evolution of cooperation in the management of common property resources. We develop a dynamic model that includes moral norms or a sense of 'identity,' and show that cooperation may -- but need not -- be an equilibrium outcome in the absence of intervention by a managing agency or punishment by peers. We demonstrate that outside intervention has ambiguous effects when identity matters -- it may reduce welfare of the agents harvesting the stock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]