1.3.3- Public Goods

Question 1

What are public goods?

Answer 1

Non-rivalrous and non-excludable goods that are missing from the free market, but offer benefits to society

Question 2

What does non-rivalrous mean?

Answer 2

One person’s use of the good doesn’t stop someone else using it

Question 3

What does non-excludable mean?

Answer 3

You can’t stop someone else from accessing the good

Question 4

What are some examples of public goods?

Answer 4

Streetlights and flood control systems

Question 5

What are quasi-public goods?

Answer 5

Goods that aren’t perfectly non-rivalrous and non-excludable, but aren’t perfectly rival or excludable

Question 6

What is an example of a quasi-public good?

Answer 6

Roads as they are semi-excludable as they could be turned into toll roads, and are semi-rivalrous as there could be congestion

Question 7

What is the free rider problem?

Answer 7

People can not pay for the good but still receive benefits from it, so the private sector can’t make a profit from it

Question 8

What are private goods?

Answer 8

Goods that are rival and excludable