free rider

Economics

(noun)

One who obtains benefit from a public good without paying for it directly.

Related Terms

  • Non-rivalrous
  • Non-excludable
  • public good
  • externality
  • monopoly

(noun)

Someone who enjoys the benefits of a good without paying for it

Related Terms

  • Non-rivalrous
  • Non-excludable
  • public good
  • externality
  • monopoly
Sociology

(noun)

The free-rider problem refers to the idea that people will not be motivated to participate in a social movement that will use up their personal resources like time or money if they can still receive the benefits without participating.

Related Terms

  • injustice frame
  • cultural theory
Political Science

(noun)

In economics, collective bargaining, psychology and political science, "free riders" are those who consume more than their fair share of a resource, or shoulder less than a fair share of the costs of its production. Free riding is usually considered to be an economic "problem" only 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. The free rider problem is the question of how to prevent free riding from taking place (or at least limit its negative effects) in these situations.

Related Terms

  • pluralism
  • public interest group
  • collective goods
  • purposive incentive
  • selective material benefits
  • expressive incentive
  • solidary benefit

Examples of free rider in the following topics:

  • The Free-Rider Problem

    • The free-rider problem is when individuals benefit from a public good without paying their share of the cost.
    • It is the second trait- the non-excludability- that leads to what is called the free-rider problem.
    • Since public goods are non-excludable, free-riders not only can't be prevented from using the good, but actually have an incentive to continue to free-ride.
    • They are free-riders.
    • Free riders are able to use roads without paying their taxes because roads are a non-excludable public good.
  • Public Goods

    • This is called the "free-rider problem. " If too many consumers decide to "free-ride," private costs to producers will exceed private benefits, and the incentive to provide the good or service through the market will disappear.
    • Those listeners who do not make a contribution are "free-riders. " If the station relies solely on funds contributed by listeners, it would under-produce programming.
  • Sources of Social Change

    • Second, it attempts to address the free-rider problem.
    • In emphasizing the injustice frame, culture theory also addresses the free-rider problem.
    • The free-rider problem refers to the idea that people will not be motivated to participate in a social movement that will use up their personal resources (e.g., time, money, etc.) if they can still receive the benefits without participating.
    • If X believes the movement will succeed without her, she can avoid participation in the movement, save her resources, and still reap the benefits—this is free-riding.
  • Externalities

    • Positive externalities are often associated with the free rider problem.
    • Conversely, any one individual can refuse vaccination, still avoiding the disease by "free riding" on the costs borne by others.
  • Defining a Good

    • Public goods may give rise to the "free rider problem. " A free-rider is a person who receives the benefit of a good without paying for it.
  • Motivations Behind the Formation of Interest Groups

    • To illustrate the free rider problem and collective goods, take for instance a tax write-off for a better environment.
    • Known as the free rider problem, it refers to the difficulty of obtaining members of a particular interest group when the benefits are already reaped without membership.
    • To illustrate the free rider problem and collective goods, take environmental groups who advocate for a cleaner environment.
    • For instance, if an interest group gives a material benefit to their member, they could give them travel discounts, free meals at certain restaurants, or free subscriptions to magazines, newspapers, or journals.
    • Some include free speech, civil rights, economic justice, or political equality .
  • "Market Failure" and Property Rights

    • Since individual cannot be excluded and there is no reason for them to contribute to the costs of production, they become "free riders."
    • In some cases free riders can be encouraged to contribute through social mechanisms such as feelings of philanthropy or guilt.
    • In cases where a society decides to undertake an alternative, and an individual prefers not to be a participant, the individual may become a forced rider.
  • Hegemony

    • A hegemony is critical for free trade because international markets and institutions are public goods.
    • These public goods are expensive to provide, and many nations can free ride on the international system without contributing to it.
    • A free rider is a country that opens itself to international trade and benefits from trade without paying for the public goods that establish and maintain free trade.
    • A hegemony provides the international public goods, even supporting the free riders because the benefits outweigh the costs.
    • For example, the United States supports a system of free trade.
  • Temple Architecture in the Greek Orientalizing Period

    • The scale of the horses dwarfs that of their riders.
    • Each horse stands in profile, while each rider faces the viewer with his sword raised and his shield seemingly connecting his head to his legs.
    • Each rider has a stylized nose, eyes, and eyebrows and wears a helmet.
    • Like free-standing sculptures of the time, the hairstyle of the riders is plaited in a somewhat Egyptian style.
    • Like the free-standing sculptures of the Orientalizing period, each figure on the lintel of Temple A wears Egyptian-style headgear with geometric patterns and cloaks atop their geometrically patterned dresses, which are cinched at the waist.
  • Cooperation, Competition and Conscription

    • Ideally, each individual is free to make choices that are consistent with their desires (preferences, values) and at the same time, these choices are consistent with the commonweal.
    • It is a variation of the arguments about whether individuals have free will.
    • In a road race, the riders cooperate in the peleton (the large group of riders in a bicycle race) by drafting (using the rider in front to reduce the wind drag).
    • Eventually, the structure of the pace line disintegrates and the riders compete in a sprint to the finish or they fall back into the group.
    • The ability and determination of each rider, given the structure of the race, determines or allocates the finishing position (winner, 2nd, 3rd , etc) of each rider.
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