It may be easy for two neighbors to agree to drain a meadow, which they possess in common, to grow crops. However, when the meadow is much larger and reaches thousands of people, the solution is more difficult because of the free rider problem.
What is the free-rider problem:
The free-rider problem arises when people enjoy the benefits of a common resource without making any contributions towards it, resulting in market failure. Market failure refers to when a good or service gets distributed inefficiently in a market.
When only two neighbors share a meadow, they can easily hold each other accountable for draining the meadow on time. However, when the meadow can be accessed by thousands of people, it is difficult to hold one person accountable for draining it. Everyone will want to use the meadow to grow their crops. However, none will be willing to take the responsibility of draining it since they know that if they wait for someone else to drain the meadow, they can benefit from it without having to do any work themselves. As everyone will dodge the responsibility to drain the meadow with the intention of free riding, it is likely that no one will end up draining the meadow.
Learn more about the free-rider problem here:
brainly.com/question/9878653
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