When you purchase and eat a hamburger, no one else can eat the same hamburger. When you download a file on the Internet, the file is still available for others to download. Economists explain this difference between hamburgers and computer files by saying that the hamburger is:
A) excludable whereas the computer file is not.
B) nonexcludable whereas the computer file is not.
C) rival in consumption whereas the computer file is not.
D) nonrival in consumption whereas the computer file is not.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A hamburger is rival in consumption because once it is consumed, it cannot be consumed by someone else. A computer file, however, is nonrival because downloading it does not prevent others from downloading it as well.

When You Purchase and Eat a Hamburger, No One Else