This track will enable conference delegates to examine past and current methodological approaches applied to understanding the commons and assess their usefulness in today’s world. Papers will analyze the role of economics as a key driver for political action in the commons, including exploration of different approaches such as experimental, ecological and resource economics, and political ecology. How economic approaches contrast with other complex-system, multi-level, transdisciplinary approaches will also be examined, in support of the effort to use the best available knowledge on the socio-ecological dynamics that govern commons resources.