Public Good
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A Public Good is an good that is both a non-excludable good and a non-rivalrous good (in that individuals cannot be effectively excluded from use and where use by one individual does not reduce availability to others).
- AKA: Common Wealth.
- Example(s):
- Counter-Example(s):
- a Private Good.
- See: Economics, Good (Economics), Excludable, Rivalry (Economics), Earth's Atmosphere, Knowledge, Lighthouse, Street Lights, Global Public Good, Externalities, Air Pollution, Traffic Congestion.
References
2014
- (Wikipedia, 2014) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_good Retrieved:2014-5-3.
- In economics, a public good is a good that is both non-excludable and non-rivalrous in that individuals cannot be effectively excluded from use and where use by one individual does not reduce availability to others. [1] Examples of public goods include fresh air, knowledge, lighthouses, national defense, flood control systems and street lighting. Public goods that are available everywhere are sometimes referred to as global public goods. Many public goods may at times be subject to excessive use resulting in negative externalities affecting all users; for example air pollution and traffic congestion. Public goods problems are often closely related to the "free-rider" problem, in which people not paying for the good may continue to access it, or the tragedy of the commons, where consumption of a shared resource by individuals acting in their individual and immediate self-interest diminishes or even destroys the original resource. Thus, the good may be under-produced, overused or degraded. [2] Public goods may also become subject to restrictions on access and may then be considered to be club goods or private goods; exclusion mechanisms include copyright, patents, congestion pricing, and pay television.
There is a good deal of debate and literature on how to measure the significance of public goods problems in an economy, and to identify the best remedies.
- In economics, a public good is a good that is both non-excludable and non-rivalrous in that individuals cannot be effectively excluded from use and where use by one individual does not reduce availability to others. [1] Examples of public goods include fresh air, knowledge, lighthouses, national defense, flood control systems and street lighting. Public goods that are available everywhere are sometimes referred to as global public goods. Many public goods may at times be subject to excessive use resulting in negative externalities affecting all users; for example air pollution and traffic congestion. Public goods problems are often closely related to the "free-rider" problem, in which people not paying for the good may continue to access it, or the tragedy of the commons, where consumption of a shared resource by individuals acting in their individual and immediate self-interest diminishes or even destroys the original resource. Thus, the good may be under-produced, overused or degraded. [2] Public goods may also become subject to restrictions on access and may then be considered to be club goods or private goods; exclusion mechanisms include copyright, patents, congestion pricing, and pay television.
- ↑ For current definitions of public goods see any mainstream microeconomics textbook, e.g.: Hal R. Varian, Microeconomic Analysis ISBN 0-393-95735-7; Mas-Colell, Whinston & Green, Microeconomic Theory ISBN 0-19-507340-1; or Gravelle & Rees, Microeconomics ISBN 0-582-40487-8.
- ↑ Rittenberg and Tregarthen. Principles of Microeconomics: Chapter 6, Section 4. pp. 2 [1] Accessed June 20, 2012