It is inefficient for the government to charge a price for consuming public health information because
A)too much of the information will be produced.
B)the price cannot be set to cover all research costs.
C)no one will be willing to pay to use this information.
D)the cost of providing this information to an additional person is essentially zero.
E)the marginal costs of producing it exceed the marginal benefits of using it.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Public health information is a non-rivalrous and non-excludable good, meaning that its consumption by one person does not reduce the amount available for others to consume, and it is difficult to exclude people from using it. Therefore, charging a price for its consumption would be inefficient and unnecessary, as the cost of providing the information to an additional person is negligible. So, it is more reasonable to make it freely accessible to everyone, which would result in a greater social benefit without any additional cost for the government.

It Is Inefficient for the Government to Charge a Price