Individual Contributions for Collective Goods

There is a growing controversy as to what behavior is to be expected of individuals regarding contributions for the supply of collective goods. This paper attempts to settle some of the controversy. It attempts to do so not by showing that one of the positions taken is correct and the others wrong, but by showing that the various authors in question reach different conclusions about individual behavior in situations involving the potential supply of collective goods because they make different assumptions regarding the nature of the goods and the nature of the situations in which the individuals find themselves. The different conclusions are reconciled by a careful examination of the assumptions of the authors. Specific variables are identified which account for the differences in the models and a set of dimensions along which collective goods situations can vary is presented.