Elinor Ostrom on Defining Common Property

"Scholars who have designed taxonomies to point out the difference between open access arrangements and common property have sometimes distinguished four very general "types" of property: public, private, common and open access. This classification unfortunately creates the erroneous impression that common property is not private property and thus does not share in the desirable attributes of private property. It is crucial to recognize that common property is shared private property and should be considered alongside business partnerships, joint-stock corporations and cooperatives."

McKean, M. and E. Ostrom (1995) ‘Common Property Regimes in the Forest: Just a Relic from the
Past?’, Unasylva, 46 (180): 3-15;