An Economic Dynamic Approach to the Infrastructure Commons

Abstract

"This Essay shows how combining Professor Frischmann’s infrastructure commons concept with Economic Dynamic Theory can help analyze normative questions about how to manage commons resources that serve as infrastructure. Economic Dynamic Theory focuses on analyzing how various institutional choices can influence change over time. This approach can work even when we cannot quantify many of the important benefits associated with infrastructure commons, such as its capacity to encourage future innovations or maintain healthy ecosystems. This Essay shows that sophisticated theorists, such as Lawrence Lessig, have tacitly applied this sort of analysis to infrastructure commons problems. Economic Dynamic Analysis provides a means of building on Professor Frischmann’s insights to better manage the infrastructure commons." (p. 1)