Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Black Rhino- Incentives


Why does the market for Black Rhinos create incentives that are different than other markets?  How can these incentives be changed?

            The Black Rhino market creates different incentives because the Black Rhinos are not private property.  Poachers have an the incentive to kill and saw of the Black Rhino's horn because it is worth a "princely sum." And when there are less Rhinos around, then the value of their horns goes up. The incentives to kill these Rhinos can be changed by giving the surrounding communities a new incentive to keep them around; by making them private property.  For example, the Rhinos can be a great tourist attraction; so if the community begins to make money on tourists who come to see the Rhinos, then there will be less of an incentive to kill the Rhinos.  

(Sorry for the late post again, I always have trouble connecting to the internet on time!)

1 comment:

  1. Tourism is not necessarily making them private property but it does change the incentives. Your explanation of scarcity surrounding the rhino could have provided more detail about the markets inability to adjust to higher prices thus creating a "vicious cycle" but you did get the main idea.
    4/5

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