Rumesh Dias 01 17 15 Homework Does Size Matter 19 24 What is the definition of a collective good and what is the main problem generally associated with such goods Provide and briefly explain an example other than the one given in this textbook A collective good also referred to as a public good is something that is open to everyone and possibly cannot be withheld from a consumer such as the aid from law enforcement These commodities that are open to the public needs support and logically the consumer s should maintain and support that commodity in order to keep it active however not everyone wants to contribute they believe that if someone else is already paying why should they These people are labeled as free riders Lets take a light house as an example if a captain pays for a lighthouse to be built he would have to maintain that lighthouse however if other ships want to use the lighthouse then it would be right if the captain who paid for the lighthouse has to be the only one who contributes to its maintenance The ships who use the lighthouse without contributing would be the free riders The so called Free riders problem is a well documented aspect of unions and other groups failure to attract membership In addition to Olson s suggestions of selective benefits what other approaches would recommend in order to deal with this problem Other than Olsen s Suggestions of selective benefits there is another approach that can be made in order to deal with the free riders problem One way would be to intensify the concern of a specific public good Single Issue groups have the ability to gain recognition from politicians Many college students recently formed a single Issue group in response to the likely increase in tuition costs of colleges they ve received much recognition for their acts