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  • Political Science - Making Sense: One Explanatory Principle - Collective Action Theory

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    Sloan Quessenberry
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    This document discusses collective action theory in political science. It explains that collective action involves groups coordinating resources and efforts to achieve common goals, but individual members may not participate if it does not benefit them personally. It provides an example of two farmers who would both benefit if they collectively repaired a boundary fence, but each has incentives not to contribute to the repair themselves. Finally, it notes that collective action becomes more difficult for public goods that benefit many and cannot exclude non-contributors.

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    This document discusses collective action theory in political science. It explains that collective action involves groups coordinating resources and efforts to achieve common goals, but individual members may not participate if it does not benefit them personally. It provides an example of two farmers who would both benefit if they collectively repaired a boundary fence, but each has incentives not to contribute to the repair themselves. Finally, it notes that collective action becomes more difficult for public goods that benefit many and cannot exclude non-contributors.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    26 views1 page

    Political Science - Making Sense: One Explanatory Principle - Collective Action Theory

    Uploaded by

    Sloan Quessenberry
    This document discusses collective action theory in political science. It explains that collective action involves groups coordinating resources and efforts to achieve common goals, but individual members may not participate if it does not benefit them personally. It provides an example of two farmers who would both benefit if they collectively repaired a boundary fence, but each has incentives not to contribute to the repair themselves. Finally, it notes that collective action becomes more difficult for public goods that benefit many and cannot exclude non-contributors.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 1

    8/22/2020

    One explanatory principle -


    Political Science – Making Sense
    Collective Action Theory
    • Empirical – What are the characteristics of • Collective action- pooling of resources
    the political system and the participants? and the coordination of effort and activity
    • Explanatory – How did that come to be by a group of people (often a large one)
    the way it is, or why does this outcome to achieve common goals
    emerge? • Collective Dilemma – even if individual
    • Normative – members would benefit from collective
    What ought action, they may have rational incentives
    to act in ways that undermine their
    to be or what collective goals
    should be?

    Mending a fence as collective


    A Collective Dilemma
    action
    • 2 farmers with adjoining property Farmer 1 (top triangle)
    • Fence in between needs to be repaired Repair fence Don’t repair fence

    • Costs $1000 to fix


    • Each farmer will save $700 in costs from Repair fence + $200 + $700

    escaped ostriches Farmer 2 + 200 - $300


    (bottom
    Don’t repair fence -$300 - $200
    triangle)
    + $700 - $200

    Collective Action and Public Goods

    • Collective action occurs when the 2


    farmers figure out a way to coordinate
    their efforts to provide themselves the
    “good” of the repaired fence.
    – Informal bargaining
    • Collective action becomes more difficult
    with “goods” that 1) include more
    “beneficiaries” and 2) are less
    “excludable”

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