ABSTRACT
A variety of groups and associations carry out political activities. They take place at local, regional, national and international levels, they focus on politicians and administrators, and they are performed through a number of outlets and instruments. According to Olson (1965), political activity by collective units is a by-product of other services produced by the association, and by creating public goods political activity also creates a free rider problem. In order to attract and keep members associations have to supply selective goods, typically selective material goods. Olson’s Theory of Collective Action has been much debated and contested, concerning the nature of incentives as well as the effect of group size (see, for example Salisbury, 1969; Moe, 1980; Sabatier, 1992); but this has not eliminated the crucial matter of collective action forms and incentives.
