Some assets are overused or underprovided - why?

From the preceeding discussions it should be clear that there is real value in designing development strategies based on better management of a broader portfolio of assets. A major problem in pursuit of this goal is that some assets (knowledge, environmental, and social) tend to have characteristics of public goods or externalities-that is, their use generates spillover benefits or costs to others that are not taken into account. As a result, the stocks of these assets are generally too small from society's perspective. This is a consequence of market or policy failures.