| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Encyclopedia of Power |
| Editors | Keith Dowding |
| Place of Publication | Thousand Oaks, California |
| Publisher | Sage Publications Inc |
| Pages | 143-146pp |
| Volume | 1 |
| Edition | 1st |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781412927482 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2011 |
Abstract
At least since Mancur Olson's The Logic of Collective Action (published in 1965), cooperation between human agents has generated an enormous academic literature, almost an industry in itself. In a famous phrase, Olson said that unless a group is small or there is some other coercive mechanism, self-interested people will not act to achieve their common or group interests. This particular problem of cooperation to which Olson refers has become known as the collective action or free-rider problem.