Collective Action

Collective Action refers to activities that require coordination of efforts by two or more individuals in order to reach a socially efficient or optimal outcome. However, individual rationality does not necessarily imply collective rationality. When choices are interdependent and individual decisions are made independently, collective failure may arise. In the process of this course we will be reviewing individual decisions that lead to collective failure—including those related to the main economic and political aspects of society—and those that lead to cooperative solutions.

Required Reading: A non-technical economic story and other pieces will be posted online.

Maurice Schiff is a Fellow of the following institutions: IZA Institute of Labor Economics, Global Labor Organization, and CReAM Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration. He is also a former Lead Economist at the World Bank.