HIRSHLEIFER'S SOCIAL COMPOSITION FUNCTION IN DEFENSE ECONOMICS

Todd Sandler

Defence and Peace Economics, 2006, vol. 17, issue 6, 645-655

Abstract: This article displays the importance and richness of Hirshleifer's social composition function in public good applications, particularly those in defense economics. This function indicates how individual contributions to the public good combine to determine the overall level of the good that is available for consumption. As such, the concept indicates the aggregation technology of public supply. Applications of this 'aggregator' notion include alliance burden sharing, counter-terrorism policy, and curbing weapon proliferation. For these applications, the article shows how alternate aggregators can have profoundly different collective action and policy implications.

Keywords: Public goods; Collective action; Social composition function; Alliances; Counterterrorism; Weakest link; Best shot (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1080/10242690601025583

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