Why Do Donuts (Almost) Disappear at Faculty Meetings?

As a professor, I’ve attended many administrative meetings. The one near-constant thing I, and others, have noticed at these meetings is that the coffee always runs out, but at least a small remnant of a donut remains. Why this occurs tells a great deal about how we use social norms to solve pool resource problems common in economic life. And how those social norms may have their limits.