What is a public good?
A) a good or service that is consumed by private individuals and financed by private contributions
B) any good or service that is produced by the government
C) a good or service for which it is relatively easy to exclude nonpaying customers from consumption
D) a good or service that is consumed by both the paying and nonpaying customers

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A public good is a good or service that is non-excludable and non-rivalrous, meaning that it can be consumed without reducing its availability for others to consume as well. Therefore, both paying and non-paying individuals can consume it, making option D the best choice. Option A is incorrect because private individuals do not finance public goods, and option B is incorrect because not all goods produced by the government are public goods. Option C is also incorrect because a characteristic of public goods is that they are difficult to exclude nonpaying customers from consumption.

What Is a Public Good