Whereas commons dilemmas involve taking from a resource, public goods dilemmas involve giving to a resource. Environmental examples include: increased taxes to improve local recycling facilities, and voluntary contributions or time to preserve local wildlife. If an individual does not contribute, she may still free-ride and benefit from the public good, but if no one contributes, the resource will either fail to come into existence or fail to flourish. (See laboratory social dilemmas for a description of how this works experimentally.)
defined by Rachel New