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.