Collective Action Problems and Public Goods Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering collective action problems, externalities, game theory concepts, and property rights categories based on lecture notes.

prisoner’s dilemma

A simple collective action problem for two people where each player's non-cooperative choice is preferred regardless of the other's action, while mutual cooperation yields the socially optimal outcome.

dominant strategy

A decision in game theory where a player's non-cooperative action is preferred no matter what choices other players make.

tragedy of the commons

A collective action problem involving many players where individual rational choices lead to the depletion or degradation of a shared resource.

collective action problem

A social trap or dilemma occurring when a pro-social action has a negative net private benefit ($b < 0$) for the individual, but a positive net social benefit ($B > 0$) for the group.

externality

The cost (negative externality) or benefit (positive externality) that affects a party who did not choose to incur that cost or benefit.

net social cost

The sum of an individual's own net cost plus all net costs to all others, calculated as the sum of all negative externalities minus all positive externalities.

net social benefit

The total benefit to society from an action, defined mathematically as $-1 \times \text{net social cost}$.

Mutual Coercion Mutually Agreed Upon

Garrett Hardin's term for collective agreements, laws, or mandatory regulations enforced by society to prevent resource depletion and solve social dilemmas.

rivalrous

A characteristic of a good or resource if it cannot be fully used or enjoyed by more than one person at once.

non-rivalrous

A characteristic of a good or resource where its use by one person does not diminish the possibility of others using it too.

excludable

A characteristic of a good or resource if its properties are conducive to controlling or restricting its use.

non-excludable

A characteristic of a good or resource where it is hard to stop any given person from using or consuming it.

private good

A good that is both excludable and rivalrous, making it easily privatised and sensibly owned by an individual.

club good

A good that is non-rivalrous but excludable, making it natural to share among a group while remaining feasible to restrict access to.

pure public good

A good that is non-rivalrous and non-excludable, making it free to reproduce or otherwise available to everyone.

common-pool resources

Goods that are rivalrous but non-excludable, making them difficult to control, ration, or conserve.