By Staff Reporters
***
According to Tejvan Pettinger, a public good has two characteristics:
- Non-rivalry: This means that when a good is consumed, it doesn’t reduce the amount available for others.
– E.g. benefiting from a street light doesn’t reduce the light available for others but eating an apple would. - Non-excludability: This occurs when it is not possible to provide a good without it being possible for others to enjoy. For example, if you erect a dam to stop flooding – you protect everyone in the area (whether they contributed to flooding defenses or not.

A public good is often (though not always) under-provided in a free market because its characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability mean there is an incentive not to pay. In a free market, firms may not provide the good as they have difficulty charging people for their use.
CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource/Title/082610254
***
QUERY: Is Health and Medical Care a Public Good?
COMMENTS APPRECIATED
Thank You
Subscribe to the Medical Executive-Post
***
***
***
Filed under: "Ask-an-Advisor", Ethics, Glossary Terms, Health Economics | Tagged: economic good, Non-excludability, non-rivalous, Non-rivalry, public good, rivalrous |
Leave a Reply