Noise Free-Riding in Quiet Study Spaces

Listen, I enjoy having a quiet place to study as much as the next guy. That is why I study in the government documents room ("gov docs") on Alderman's Third Floor (no this is not an advertisement).  Though a seemingly perfect substitute exists in form of Clem 1, I find the slightly more casual atmosphere of "gov docs" to be more appealing (looking at you, the people who glare at others for opening a bag of chips on Clem 1). Plus, I am trying to take in all of what Alderman offers before it undergoes renovations in May. Sometimes however, the noise from other people whispering can coalesce into relatively loud talking not unlike the cacophony resulting from the people who study on Clem 2 (sorry to those who study there). How does this relate to ECON 3330 you ask? Here it is: if we assume, borrowing from Coase's confectioner and doctor example, that I were a "doctor" complaining about my inability to concentrate among the others making noise, I could theoretically reach a Coasian solution with the "confectioner" noisemakers. This would only be the case if there were solely one other person in all of "gov docs" and that person was making noise.

However, this is rarely the case, especially when "Sunday scaries" and midterm season rear their ugly heads. As a result, I am often surrounded by multiple "confectioners", thus introducing a free-rider aspect into the issue. If I were to reach a hypothetical Coasian solution with each noisemaker, then inevitably the rational noisemaker would notice that as the number of noisemakers increases the marginal cost that they would incur of making noise falls. Among 20 people in one room, one extra person making noise is relatively less disturbing than one extra person making noise among five people. Given that each noisemaker is likely rational, the free-rider problem would be exacerbated, thereby resulting in every noisemaker disturbing one's study time. Under these constraints, "gov docs" would be noisy all the time, and I would just have to resort to finding a different place to study. However, it appears that norms of empathy override this urge to de-prioritize others' studying for one's own right to make noise (even for the noisiest of people). I guess this kind of digressed into an open letter to quiet studying rooms (and norms of empathy). Well, quiet studying rooms, you're underappreciated, don't ever change. With dear thanks, a Public Choice student.