Unit 2.9 · Market Failure: Public Goods
Public Goods
AO2
Syllabus Requirement
Defined by being non-rivalrous (one person’s use doesn’t reduce availability for others) and non-excludable (people cannot be prevented from using it).
Assessment Objectives
AO2Application and Analysis
Summary
Public goods are types of goods that can be consumed by many individuals without reducing their availability to others. They are characterized by being non-rivalrous and non-excludable, which means that one person's use does not diminish another's ability to use it, and people cannot be easily prevented from using them. Understanding public goods is important in economics because they often require government provision due to market failures in their supply.