PUBLIC GOODS Flashcards
What is a public good
goods provided by teh governemnt
and not through market mechanisms themselves
where we directly pay for them
give examples of public goods
streetlights
flood defences
Army
what are the 2 fundamental characteristics of public goods
non excludable
non rival
what does non excludable mean
no price can be charged for the good
what does non rival mean
qunatity available doesnt diminish upon consumption
give 1st explanation for why price cant be charged for a public good
benefits of consuiming good cannot just be confined to the individual that has paid for it
even if someone pays people around might benefit in the same way for free
give 2nd explanation for why price cant be charged for a public good
no price can be charged as theres not a cost efficient way of pricing e.g might be too expensive
explain non rivalry using example of chocolatge
if we consume choocolate theres one less that availabel for everyone else
not like pg if someone consumes it the wuantity available stays the same for all esle who wanna consume
explain why streetlights are aprivate good
3 points
non excludable as when someone pays teh benefits arent confided to th eperson that pays as everyone can make use of the streetlight
non ecludable as theres no cost effective way to price the streetlight as would be too expensive for the average consuemr
non rival as wehen consumed the quantity avaiable o streetlgith doesnt dimininsh for everyone else
- one person using it doesnt reduce amount available for others
in a beach theres no cost efficient way to PRICE FOR ALL
water, sand and leisure it provides
theres no cost efficient way to price beahces for all the leisure it provides but in theory what could private firms do
build walls so people have to pay
do to non excludability and non rivalry what do we get
free rider problem
explain the free rider problem
2 marks
consumers got 0 incentive to contribute to provision of public goods
because non rival and non excludable so wait for others to contribute then free ride off their contributions
why do free riders know they can cause the free rider problem
beenfits of PG not confined to person thats paying so can beenfit w/o paying - non excludable
and know if person paying , does consume the same amount is available for them to consume also - non rival
if everyone acts liek a free rider what would happen:
no one would …
no one would pay towards provision of PG at all