PO101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Free Rider Problem, Externality
Document Summary
Chapter 11: voting, elections, and political parties ii. Mass participation in politics: 30% apathetic, 60% spectators, 5-7% gladiators. All in all, no more than 20% of the population regularly engages in political issues. Why don"t people who have the privilege of democratic participation take the advantage of it: the logic of collective action. Free rider: a person who chooses to receive the benefits of a public good or a positive externality without contributing to paying the costs of producing those benefits. People rationally prefer the role of the non-participating free-rider who enjoys the benefits of the public good. These are good that have two characteristics: non-excludability- non paying consumers cannot be prevented from using it; and, non-rivalry- when you consume the good, it does not reduce the amount available to others. Common examples of public goods include: defense, public works, clean air and other environmental goods, etc.
