Rational choice, Round Robin, and rebellion: An institutional solution to the problems of revolution

Peter Leeson

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2010, vol. 73, issue 3, 297-307

Abstract: Two collective action problems plague successful revolution. On the one hand, would-be revolutionaries confront a "participation problem," whereby no rationally self-interested individual has an incentive to participate in rebellion. On the other hand, individuals face a "first-mover problem" whereby no rationally self-interested individual has an incentive to lead rebellion. This paper argues that 18th-century merchant sailors who confronted these problems devised a novel institution to facilitate maritime revolution and assist them in overthrowing abusive captains. This institution was called a "Round Robin." Round Robins helped overcome both the participation and first-mover problems by aligning the interests of individual sailors desiring mutiny and restructuring the payoffs of leading versus following maritime rebellion.

Keywords: Round; Robin; Revolution; Rational; choice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:73:y:2010:i:3:p:297-307

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