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The Collective Action Problem
“Sharing a goal does not ensure that anyone will bear the cost of pursuing it.”
01 / SUMMARY
In short
A collective action problem arises when a group would benefit from coordination but each member has incentives to wait, withdraw, or rely on others' effort. Size, organization, and selective incentives change the problem.
03 / SCENE
In the wild
An industry wants an open database, while each firm prefers another one to fund its maintenance.
04 / LIMIT
The limit
It proves neither universal selfishness nor the failure of every large group; institutions can alter the structure.
FINAL NOTE
What remains
Locate who gains, who pays, and which mechanism makes participation credible.