The reason the political process must be employed to produce the socially optimal amount of a public good is that few would voluntarily pay for it.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Public goods are non-excludable and non-rivalrous, meaning individuals cannot be effectively excluded from use, and use by one individual does not reduce availability to others. This leads to the free-rider problem, where individuals have little incentive to pay for the public good voluntarily, expecting others to cover the cost while they still benefit. Therefore, the political process is often necessary to ensure these goods are provided at socially optimal levels through taxation and government provision.

The Reason the Political Process Must Be Employed to Produce