Abstract
This paper analyses the importance of reciprocity in the processes and procedures recorded in the management of common resources. First, it examines the role that Elinor Ostrom attributes to the norm of reciprocity in her approach to common property resources. Second, it interprets economic and social relationships in the management of common resources as seen by Francophone economic anthropology's theory of reciprocity. The argument relies on the application of these two theoretical and methodological approaches to the analysis of common resources management systems in the Northeast of Brazil and in New Caledonia. The conclusion attempts to establish a dialogue between Ostrom's proposals and the theory of reciprocity.