On Economics, Investing and Behavioral Finance

[By Dr. David E. Marcinko MBA]

Although I did not fall asleep during my psychiatry rotations, or psychology classes, in medical school; the concept of ToC was not known to me until my first economics class while in B-School.

What it is!

The tragedy of the commons is a term, originally used by Garrett Hardin, to denote a situation where individuals acting independently and rationally according to each’s self-interest behave contrary to the best interests of the whole group by depleting some common resource.

The term is taken from the title of an article written by Hardin in 1968, which is in turn based upon an essay by a Victorian economist on the effects of unregulated grazing on common land.

“Commons” in this sense has come to mean such resources as atmosphere, oceans, rivers, fish stocks, the office refrigerator, energy or any other shared resource which is not formally regulated; not common land in its agricultural sense.

The tragedy of the commons concept is often cited in connection with sustainable development, meshing economic growth and environmental protection, as well as in the debate over global warming. It has also been used in analyzing behavior in the fields of economics, evolutionary psychology, anthropology, game theory, politics, taxation, and sociology.

However the concept, as originally developed, has also received criticism for not taking into account the many other factors operating to enforce or agree on regulation in this scenario.

Example: UMD ‘tragedy of the commons‘ tweet goes viral – Baltimore Sun

Investing Behavior?

Today, some financial advisors, wealth managers, doctors and behavioral psychologists believe the ToC is an increasingly important concept in investing.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

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Greed is still trumping fear, and that’s bad for stocks …

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Assessment

So what does all this have to do with investing? Are we experiencing this phenomenon in the markets, today?

Read the article thru the link above; fear and greed.

More:

• Some Behavioral Finance Publications to Review
• How Emotional Intelligence Can Make You a Better Investor

Conclusion

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Front Matter with Foreword by Jason Dyken MD MBA

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Filed under: Ethics, Health Economics, Investing | Tagged: behavioral finance, Dr. David Marcinko, emotional investing, Garrett Hardin, tragedy of the commons | 1 Comment »