Relación entre el stock de un recurso de propiedad común y el crecimiento de la población que lo explota. El caso de la extracción de la piangua en la ensenada de Tumaco, Colombia

The exploitation of common pool resources is the only source of income that can be reached in many of developing countries households. The main purpose of this paper is to show the empirical evidence that supports the hypothesis where the excessive use of a particular scarce natural resource due to a demographic growth is unsustainable. This hypothesis is applied to the case of Piangua (Anadara Tuberculosa) at the “Ensenada de Tumaco”, Colombia. For this study, two different specifications there were considered: partial equilibrium and general equilibrium. The first model was estimated by OLS methods, whereas the second one simulated population tendencies over 60 years. Finding verified the initial hypothesis with each one of the method used. Finally it was concluded that when the household mean size reaches 4 people, the scarce resource may be depleted in less than 12 years.