FREE-RIDER PROBLEM: The inclination to enjoy the benefit of a good without paying for it--if you don't have to. This is the main reason public goods are produced by government. Most people won't voluntarily pay for a public good, because excludability means they can get it without paying--a free ride. With a large number of free riders--perhaps everyone--voluntary payments like those occurring in markets won't provide enough revenue to pay production costs. The only way to finance public goods is to force free-riders, and everyone else, to pay through taxes.

     See also | public good | excludability | rival consumption | good types | market | taxes | production cost |

FREE-RIDER PROBLEM, AmosWEB GLOSS*arama, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2024. [Accessed: December 5, 2024].

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The total income earned by the citizens of the national economy as a result of their ownership of resources used in the production of final goods and services during a given period of time, usually one year. This is the government's official measure of how much income is generated by the economy in the course of production. National income, generally abbreviated as NI, is the broadest, most comprehensive of three income measures reported in the National Income and Product Accounts by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The other two are personal income (PI) and disposable income (DI). Two related measures of production are gross domestic product (GDP) and net domestic product (NDP).

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Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time calling an endless list of 800 numbers wanting to buy either a large, stuffed kitty cat or a cross-cut paper shredder. Be on the lookout for deranged pelicans.
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