Date of Award
2025
Degree Name
Master of Business (Research)
Schools and Centres
Business
First Supervisor
Dr Riko Stevens
Second Supervisor
Adjunct Professor George Kailis
Abstract
Concentrated benefits and dispersed costs (CBDC) is a central concept in the field of public choice as well as economics more broadly. The phrase concentrated benefits and dispersed costs refers to a situation in which economic benefits are concentrated and the associated costs are borne by a larger group. This thesis argues that the elements of CBDC are common in the literature without the term being used directly. This study is an exercise in the history of economic thought. The study is structured into three case studies, with each dedicated to the work of an influential economist: Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923); Mancur Olson (1932-1998); and Elinor Ostrom (1933-2012). This thesis identifies the elements of CBDC present in their works and uses a case studies approach to analyse the common treatment of the topic of CBDC across these thinkers as well as their unique contributions. The various manifestations of CBDC as identified by each case study is investigated, and the treatment of agents and institutions as they relate to CBDC is explored.
Publication Details
Cuthbertson, N. J. (2025). Concentrated Benefits and Dispersed Costs: The Contributions of Pareto, Olson, and Ostrom [Master of Business (Research)]. The University of Notre Dame Australia. https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theses/476