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The Market Mechanism, Market Failure and Government Intervention

Public goods, private goods and quasi-public goods

  • 3 things to know
  • Papers 1 and 3

Overview

Non-rivalry and non-excludability, the free rider problem, and how technology can reclassify a good.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Evaluation

Why does non-excludability stop the free market providing a public good?

Process

What is a quasi-public good, and how can its classification change?

Numbers

Explain how television broadcasting illustrates the impact of technology on excludability.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What does it mean for a pure public good to be non-rival?

    Model answer

    One person's consumption does not reduce the amount available for others to consume.

  2. 2

    Define non-excludability in the context of a pure public good.

    Model answer

    It is impossible or impractical to prevent anyone from consuming the good once it has been provided.

  3. 3

    What is the marginal cost of an additional user consuming a non-rival good?

    Model answer

    Zero — there is no additional cost when another person consumes the good.

  4. 4

    Why does non-excludability lead to free riding?

    Model answer

    Because once the public good is provided, free riders cannot be prevented from benefiting without paying.

  5. 5

    State the two defining characteristics of a private good.

    Model answer

    A private good is both rival and excludable.

  6. 6

    What does rivalry mean for a private good?

    Model answer

    One person's consumption reduces the quantity available for others to consume.

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Monopsony means a market dominated by one buyer.
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