Free Rider Problem

Because the notion of "fairness" is a subject of controversy, free riding is usually only considered to be an economic "problem" when it leads to the non-production or under-production of a Public Good , and thus to Pareto Inefficiency , or when it leads to the excessive use of a Common Property Resource .

A common example of a free rider problem is 's Military forces, and thus free riders may refuse or avoid paying for being defended, even though they are still as well guarded as those who contribute to the state's efforts. Therefore, it is usual for the government to avoid relying on volunteer donations, using Taxes and/or Conscription instead. Although, of course, it is perfectly legitimate for a voting citizen to disagree with the level of defense spending and/or its military objectives, often seen as contributing to the Military-industrial Complex .

SEE ALSO

literal free riding:

--- Freighthopping

--- Stowaway

REFERENCES

Richard Cornes and Todd Sandler, ''The Theory of Externalities, Public Goods and Club Goods'' 2nd ed. (1996)

Joshi Venugopal, ''Drug imports: the free-rider paradox'', Express Pharma Pulse, (2005), 11(9), 8. This article refers to the free-rider problem in global pharmaceutical research. {Link without Title}

EXTERNAL LINKS

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry

Criticism of Theory

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