The strategy-proof provision of public goods under congestion and crowding preferences (Q1876655)

The authors study the strategy proof provision of a single public good when agents care about the number of consumers. They showed that the strategy proof, Pareto optimal, and outsider independence implies that a fixed number of consumers has to be assigned regardless of the individuals' desire to participate. A hierarchial rule selects participants and a generalized median rule selects the level of the public good. Under the heterogeneity of agents views on the optimal number of consumers strategy proof, Pareto optimal, and outsider independent social choice functions are much more limited and in the case of congestion it has to be determined dictatorically i.e. by one individual only. The case of more than one good remains to be seen.