Free riding is one of the problems that affect collective action. That is to say, all of the activity that several people take part in to obtain a resource or a commonbenefit.In this sense, this present work tries to give a global view with respect to collective action, the difficulties it presents and some of the possible solutions that some theorists suggest regarding them, analysing the two main current ones that have dominated the whole investigation. The objective of all of this is to highlight the need for collective action in society, despite the fact that its existing attracts social loafers that take advantage of collective work. As an example, we can look at sports climbing, a sport that would not be possible without the collective action of the climbers. The conclusion is that collective action is, in many ways, necessary, even though it might product negative externalities.

Treball final de Grau en Economia. Codi: EC1049. Curs acadèmic 2014-2015