Talk:Free-rider problem
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Free Rider Problem in Culture and Societal Application
[edit]Suggestion: This article can become a discrete topic under social loafing if a section devoted to how the free rider problem applies in a societal context.
I think that if we analyze how different economic structures support/discourage free riders, the article would become stronger. Readers are looking for real world evidence in current events and history which point to the free rider problem. By going into established theories on how communism vs. capitalism affects free riders, and how certain cultures around the world have different effects on free riders at an individual level, (such as collectivist cultures in the East having documented lower problems with social loafing), we can create an informative article on this issue. I welcome suggestions as to how to best approach this as I plan on contributing personally to such a section in the article.
Akaychestnut 15:55 Sept 21, 2014 (EST)
The human economic migration problems (globally) seem to be good examples of how the free-rider problem can impact the decisions of large populations to migrate long distances to take advantage of the largess of more economically developed countries. There is hope that once settled, these migrants will become "net producers" and leave the ranks of free-riders. In the meantime, the existing "net producers" in the countries hosting these new economic immigrants bear the weight of paying for the increased costs of accommodating the new residents (who may be citizens, or not). As we have seen all over Europe in the last 20 years of Middle Eastern wars, the host countries have been severely strained by the increased costs and have erected considerable physical and legal barriers to unrestricted immigration (amid great criticism from advocates for free migration). The US, facing the evacuation of impoverished people from Central America moving to the US border, is struggling with this issue and has not reached consensus on the balance between altruism and self-interest of its own citizens. I would like to see an academic/economic (not political) discussion of the free-rider problem involving human migration.76.25.0.122 (talk) 18:52, 3 March 2021 (UTC) MWilliams March 3, 2021
Malibu Surfer redirects here, but isn't covered or discussed here.
[edit]The malibu surfer problem redirects here, despite being an entirely separate concept. It is not discussed or covered here and should most likely be a separate article.
Useful Additional Sources
[edit]About topic of Free-rider problem
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0266267100002480
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2601275?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
One or the other
[edit]I don't know where to write this either, sorry. But the article defines the free rider problem as both (1) a market failure and (2) a question of how to limit free riding. Surely it should be one or the other. If so, I should be (1) because (2) seems circular. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chrisfoxinc (talk • contribs) 11:43, 24 December 2021 (UTC)
Flawed Reference to debunked Tragedy of the Commons
[edit]The Tragedy of the Commons cited in this article has been seriously criticized to the point of being debunked.
https://evonomics.com/the-only-woman-to-win-the-nobel-prize-economics-debunked/ https://www.bunkhistory.org/resources/the-tragedy-of-the-commons-is-a-dubious-right-wing-concept https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/voices/the-tragedy-of-the-tragedy-of-the-commons/ Gypsymansion (talk) 03:11, 9 November 2025 (UTC)