Behavioral Game Theory

In the last month or so I seem to have come across a lot of discussion on how to reduce use of antibiotics. The basic claim seems to be that we are entering a worrying stage where antibiotics lose their power to stop common infections. Only by reigning back our use of antibiotics can we avoid falling into the abyss. But how do we reign back our use of antibiotics? It is typical to refer to the tragedy of the commons when exploring the options available to us. Personally, however, I feel the tragedy of the commons is a misleading way of looking at the problem with antibiotics. Let me explain.            The tragedy of the commons can arise whenever there is a resource that is limited in supply (rivalrous in the jargon of microeconomics) but that can be harvested by anyone (non-excludable). Water, fish, clean air and grazing land are the textbook examples. The tragedy is that we end up overusing the resource because each individual harvests as much as he wants, ignoring the negative