POLD89H3 Lecture Notes - Civil Society, Westminster System, Office Of The United Nations High Commissioner For Human Rights
Document Summary
If a good is supplied to any member of a group, then it is supplied to all members of that group. In contrast to private goods, collective goods are therefore indivisible. If new members are added to the group, other members who are currently benefiting from (or consuming ) the good will not receive a diminished amount. As in any prisoner"s dilemma, both sides have an incentive to defect (erect trade barriers), because, no matter what the other side does, defecting will yield a better outcome for the defector. Non-exclusiveness: a jointly supplied good may be either excludable or non-excludable. Some jointly supplied goods can be withheld from members of the group, but a collective good is jointly supplied and non-excludable. Origins: originate in ancient greece, related to the doctrine of the stoics: human conduct should be in harmony with the law of nature, roman law embraced the notion of human rights.