Identity switching and conservation on the commons

Abstract

This paper considers identity switching in the conservation of a common-pool resource, arguing the interplay of selfish and pro-environmental identities. Common-pool resource exploitation is known as the tragedy of the commons, which is based on the assumption that human behavior is driven by selfish identity. Besides material payoff, the pro-environmental identity obtains psychological payoff related to the resource conservation. By increasing the probability of identity switching from selfish to pro-environmental, an agent is expected to provide a higher activity level to the conservation. Then, resource sustainability can be achieved.