Suppose a particular national park imposes a voluntary contribution system for entrants of the park. It is suggested that all entrants pay something and there is an estimate given that $5 per user on average will be sufficient to pay for the expenses of maintaining the park. It is most likely that:
A)everybody that enters the park will pay a sufficient amount to make sure that expenses are covered.
B)nobody who uses the park will contribute anything and the expenses will not be covered.
C)some users of the park will not pay anything and will act as trespassers.
D)some users of the park will not pay anything and will act as free riders.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Even though the system is voluntary, some users will take advantage of the contributions made by others and not pay anything, acting as free riders. This behavior is expected in voluntary contribution systems. Therefore, it is likely that not all users will pay the suggested $5 and expenses may not be covered if too many free riders exist. The voluntary contribution system implies that some users may choose not to pay anything, which would indicate that some users will act as free riders, benefiting from the park without contributing to its expenses.

Suppose a Particular National Park Imposes a Voluntary Contribution System