Azerbaijan: Litter

Thoughts On The Road reports on what it calls collective action problems where individuals choose to behave in a manner which adversely affects others. The blog says that the tendency for Azerbaijanis to litter is one example of such behavior. However, the blog believes that as education is key to changing such a situation, the local, regional and national authorities are ultimately responsible.

Everywhere you turn in Azerbaijan, collective action problems confront you. “Collective action problems” is a term describing situations where behavior most advantageous for individuals produces results that are the worst for the group. The over-fishing of the oceans is a good example. Everyone suffers, but no single individual has an incentive to change his or her behavior. Even it is in the individual self-interest of a fisherman to keep fishing, even while the fishery as a whole is collapsing.

Azerbaijan is not unique in its level of collective action problems. The collapse of the Soviet Union meant that many such problems that had been “solved” suddenly needed to be addressed in a new way. The old order – which imposed a solution on these problems – has fallen away. And the new order is unwilling or unable fix the problems.