Application and Extrapolation

61 questions

All types61 Multiple choice32 Multiple select1 True / False10 Matching18

Read the following excerpt regarding property rights in scientific research:

'Legal scholars describe a situation known as the "tragedy of the anticommons," in which a resource is prone to underuse rather than overuse. This occurs when multiple owners each hold a right to exclude others from a scarce resource, and no one has an effective privilege of use. In biomedical research, for example, the proliferation of fragmented intellectual property rights—where dozens of different patents might cover various fragments of a single gene sequence—can create an impassable thicket of licensing negotiations. Because assembling all the necessary permissions is so costly and complex, researchers often abandon promising projects, leaving the potential societal benefits of the underlying knowledge unrealized.'

Which of the following scenarios is most analogous to the 'tragedy of the anticommons' as described in the passage?

A city proposes to build a new public park across a large tract of vacant land, but because the land is divided into fifty tiny parcels, each owned by a different individual who can refuse to sell, the city abandons the project and the land remains unused.

A pharmaceutical company patents a new life-saving drug and refuses to license it to generic manufacturers, establishing a monopoly that prevents many patients from accessing the medication.

A group of biomedical researchers collaborates on a genetic study but fails to establish clear intellectual property rights beforehand, leading to a legal dispute over who owns the final patent.

A common grazing pasture is destroyed because every shepherd in the village allows their flock to overgraze, as no single shepherd has the authority to restrict the others from using the land.

A community garden is left uncultivated because the local municipal government strictly enforces a zoning ordinance that prohibits any agricultural activity in residential neighborhoods.

Show answer & explanation

Answer: A city proposes to build a new public park across a large tract of vacant land, but because the land is divided into fifty tiny parcels, each owned by a different individual who can refuse to sell, the city abandons the project and the land remains unused.

Answer

The correct scenario perfectly mirrors the relational structure of the passage: a potentially beneficial resource (the park/vacant land) is left unused (abandoned project) because ownership is fragmented among many individuals (fifty tiny parcels), each of whom has the power to block the project (refuse to sell). This matches the passage's description of multiple owners holding exclusion rights, leading to underuse.

Step-by-Step Solution

Analyze the core dynamic described in the passage.

The passage describes a scenario where multiple owners each hold partial exclusion rights over a single resource, making coordination so difficult that the resource is underused or abandoned.

To identify the abstract structural relationship required for the analogy.

Evaluate the options against this core dynamic.

The option regarding the divided parcels of land matches all criteria: fragmented ownership (fifty parcels), veto power (can refuse to sell), and resulting underuse (abandoned project).

A valid analogy must match the underlying logical mechanism, not just the surface topic.

Eliminate distractors that alter the logical structure.

Options involving single monopolies, overuse, or mere legal disputes are rejected because they lack the specific 'fragmented exclusion rights' dynamic.

To ensure the selected answer uniquely fits the passage's specific principle.

Key Concept

Identifying analogous relational structures based on passage principles

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Application and Extrapolation

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