Identity and the Problem of Collective Actions

Student: Rigosik Ol`ga

Supervisor: Leonid Polishchuk

Educational Programme: Master

Year of Graduation: 2014

<p>This paper provides a qualitative literature review and analysis of the role of identity in solving collective action problems. The two channels that explain why individuals with closer identities are more willing to cooperate are suggested. First, people identify themselves with counterparty, thus people with closer identities take each other’s interests closer to heart, and he or she is more pleasant to deal with, more pleasant to produce and to consume the public good. Secondly, the knowledge that a person has same norms of behavior and beliefs reduces uncertainty, the risk of opportunistic behavior, transaction costs. On the basis of the theoretical model and taking into account the existing empirical studies it is shown that closer identity increases the success of collective action.</p>

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