Voluntary Group Response to Types of Collective Goods

Abstract

"Collective goods have been defined into three primary types distinguished by the attributes of nonsubtractibility, infeasibility of exclusion, and combination of both nonsubtractibility and nonexclusion. But these distinctions are often blurred in analysis involving collective goods. Mancur Olson's theory of groups and collective goods is an example, with the result that Olson claims unwarranted generality for his theory of small groups. The following develops the implications for voluntary provision of collective goods by focusing on the distinctions among the different types of collective goods."