In Economics, What Is a Public Good?

Public goods are the symmetry of "private goods". Full name of Public goods or services. Goods or services that cannot be provided by the private sector through the market but must be provided by the public sector in a non-market manner. Public goods have three characteristics: the indivisibility of utility. Public goods are provided to the whole society and have the characteristics of common benefit or joint consumption. People in the whole society can enjoy it together, but cannot be divided into several parts, which belong to certain individuals, families or businesses. The non-exclusiveness of consumption. That is, the enjoyment of public goods by one person, family, or business does not affect or prevent other people, families, or businesses from enjoying it at the same time. That is, there is technically no way to exclude individuals, households, or businesses that have refused to pay for public goods. ^[1]

Public goods

Public goods are available

1. Public goods are not competitive in consumption, that is, at a given level of production, the marginal cost of providing goods or services to an additional consumer is zero.

2. Consumption non-exclusiveness, that is, no one can exclude others from consuming the item because of their own consumption.

3. It has utility indivisibility. Public goods are provided to the whole society, and members of the whole society share the utility of public goods. They cannot be divided into several parts and belong to certain individuals, families or businesses. Or, according to the principle of who pays and who benefits, it is limited to individuals, families or businesses who pay.

4. Consumption is mandatory. Public goods are supplied to the whole society, and members of the whole society share its utility. Once public goods are produced and provided to society, members of society generally have no choice but to accept them passively. In other words, public goods are not freely competitive, they are highly monopolistic. This nature of public goods reminds people to pay attention to the quality and quantity of public goods. Wastes and inferior goods of public goods must not flow into the society. Once they flow into the society, their harmfulness is far greater than that of private products. The quantity of public goods is insufficient to meet the needs of society, and its harmfulness is also obvious. Excessive production and supply of public goods will also have a negative impact on society.

Several aspects to pay attention to mastering public goods

1. For each consumer, the same amount of public goods may not have the same amount of utility.

2.The classification of public goods is affected by space, technology and market conditions

3. The characteristics of public goods may not be sufficient

4. Public goods are not necessarily goods or services

5.Public goods may not be provided publicly, and private goods may not be provided privately.

6. Public provision may not necessarily be public production ^[2]