PUBLIC GOODS: Goods that are difficult to keep nonpayers from consuming (excludability), and use of the goods by one person doesn't prevent use by others (rival consumption). Examples include national defense, a clean environment, and any fourth of July fireworks display. Public goods are invariably provided by government because there's no way a private business can profitably produce them. Private businesses can't sell public goods in markets, because they can't charge a price and keep nonpaying people away. Moreover, businesses shouldn't charge a price, because there's no opportunity cost for extra consumers. For efficiency, government needs to pay for public goods through taxes.

     See also | good types | excludability | rival consumption | efficiency | market | exchange | market failure | common-property good | near-public good | private good | free-rider problem |

PUBLIC GOODS, AmosWEB GLOSS*arama, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2024. [Accessed: April 25, 2024].

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The transfer of knowledge from one person to another. Information is a flow concept. It requires someone (or something) to do the sending and someone to do the receiving. Information is a valuable commodity that provides benefits, but also incurs an opportunity cost to produce, meaning information is never perfect or complete. The existence of asymmetric information (some have more information than others) gives rise to the problems of adverse selection, moral hazard, and the principal-agent problem.

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