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Group size and the free-rider hypothesis: An examination of new evidence from churches

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Abstract

Conventional economic wisdom maintains that expansion of group size exacerbates group members' free riding tendencies. Nevertheless, experimental studies attempting to account for the effects of group size on free riding have failed to support a pure “numbers effect.” This study corroborates these experimental findings by examining contributions of church members from congregations of three prominent U.S. Protestant denominations. As a whole, these results show that, for congregations ranging from 7 members to 3,294 members, per member contributions do not decline with increased membership. The free-rider problem does not appear to be exacerbated by increases in group size.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics and Business Administration, Presbyterian College, 29325, Clinton, SC

    Jody W. Lipford

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  1. Jody W. Lipford
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I thank W. Mark Crain, William R. Dougan, David Laband, David Levy, Fred McChesney, Robert E. McCormick, Roger Meiners, Jennifer Roback, Robert D. Tollision, John Warner, Bruce Yandle, and an anonymous referee for helpful comments. I also thank Dr. Richard Andrews, Rev. Thomas C. Davis and Rev. Bill Ellison for their contributions to this paper. Finally, I acknowledge an intellectual debt to Robert J. Staaf. I alone am responsible for any remaining errors.

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Lipford, J.W. Group size and the free-rider hypothesis: An examination of new evidence from churches. Public Choice 83, 291–303 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01047748

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