2007 Thomson SouthWestern Public Goods and Common Resources

© 2007 Thomson South-Western

Public Goods and Common Resources • “The best things in life are free. . . ” – Free goods provide a special challenge for economic analysis. – Most goods in our economy are allocated in markets… © 2007 Thomson South-Western

Public Goods and Common Resources • When goods are available free of charge, the market forces that normally allocate resources in our economy are absent. • When a good does not have a price attached to it, private markets cannot ensure that the good is produced and consumed in the proper amounts. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

Public Goods and Common Resources • In such cases, government policy can potentially remedy the market failure that results, and raise economic well-being. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF GOODS • When thinking about the various goods in the economy, it is useful to group them according to two characteristics: – Is the good excludable? – Is the good rival? © 2007 Thomson South-Western

THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF GOODS • Excludability – refers to the property of a good whereby a person can be prevented from using it. • Rivalry in consumption – refers to the property of a good whereby one person’s use diminishes other people’s use. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF GOODS • Four Types of Goods – Private Goods • Goods that are both excludable and rival in consumption – Public Goods • Goods that are neither excludable nor rival in consumption – Common Resources • Goods that are rival in consumption but not excludable – Natural Monopolies • Goods that are excludable but not rival in consumption © 2007 Thomson South-Western

Figure 1 Four Types of Goods Yes Rival? No Private Goods Natural Monopolies • Ice-cream cones • Clothing • Congested toll roads • Fire protection • Cable TV • Uncongested toll roads Common Resources Public Goods • Fish in the ocean • The environment • Congested nontoll roads • Tornado siren • National defense • Uncongested nontoll roads Excludable? No © 2007 Thomson South-Western

PUBLIC GOODS • A free-rider is a person who receives the benefit of a good but avoids paying for it. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

The Free-Rider Problem • Since people cannot be excluded from enjoying the benefits of a public good, individuals may withhold paying for the good hoping that others will pay for it. • The free-rider problem prevents private markets from supplying public goods. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

The Free-Rider Problem • Solving the Free-Rider Problem • The government can decide to provide the public good if the total benefits exceed the costs. • The government can make everyone better off by providing the public good and paying for it with tax revenue. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

Some Important Public Goods • National Defense • Basic Research • Fighting Poverty © 2007 Thomson South-Western

CASE STUDY: Are Lighthouses Public Goods? • Benefit is neither excludable nor rival in consumption for ship captains • Because of free-rider problem, private • markets generally don’t provide lighthouses • 19 th century England, lighthouse owners charged local port • If port didn’t pay, light turned off • Ships avoided that port © 2007 Thomson South-Western

The Difficult Job of Cost-Benefit Analysis • Cost-benefit analysis refers to a study that compares the costs and benefits to society of providing a public good. • In order to decide whether to provide a public good or not, the total benefits of all those who use the good must be compared to the costs of providing and maintaining the public good. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

The Difficult Job of Cost-Benefit Analysis • A cost-benefit analysis would be used to estimate the total costs and benefits of the project to society as a whole. • It is difficult to do because of the absence of prices needed to estimate social benefits and resource costs. • Without accurate prices, it is difficult to assess attributes like… • the value of life • the value of consumers’ time, and • the aesthetics of public good projects. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

COMMON RESOURCES • Common resources, like public goods, are not excludable. They are available free of charge to anyone who wishes to use them. • Common resources are rival goods because one person’s use of the common resource reduces other people’s use. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

Tragedy of the Commons • The Tragedy of the Commons is a parable that illustrates why common resources get used more than is desirable from the standpoint of society as a whole. • Common resources tend to be used excessively when individuals are not charged for their usage. • This is similar to a negative externality. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

Some Important Common Resources • Clean air and water • Congested roads • Fish, whales, and other wildlife © 2007 Thomson South-Western

IN THE NEWS: A Solution to City Congestion • Motorists driving into central London on weekdays between 7: 00 A. M. and 6: 30 P. M. pay a daily tax of about $9. 50. • Cameras record license plate numbers and nonpayers are charged stiff penalties. • Congestion in central London has decreased by 30%. • 50, 000 fewer cars enter the eight square mile “restricted area” each day. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

CASE STUDY: Why the Cow Is Not Extinct • What will protect me? Private Ownership and the Profit Motive! © 2007 Thomson South-Western

IN THE NEWS: Should Yellowstone Charge as Much as Disney World? • National parks can be viewed as either public goods or common resources. • If park congestion is light, visits are not rival in consumption. • As congestion increases, park entrance fees could be raised. • The likely increase in revenues… • could be used to improve national parks, and • would encourage others to develop new parks. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

CONCLUSION: THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPERTY RIGHTS • The market fails to allocate resources efficiently when property rights are not wellestablished (i. e. some item of value does not have an owner with the legal authority to control it). • When the absence of property rights causes a market failure, the government can potentially solve the problem. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

Summary • Goods differ in whether they are excludable and whether they are rival. – A good is excludable if it is possible to prevent someone from using it. – A good is rival if one person’s enjoyment of the good prevents other people from enjoying the same unit of the good. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

Summary • Public goods are neither rival nor excludable. • Because people are not charged for their use of public goods, they have an incentive to free ride when the good is provided privately. • Governments provide public goods, making quantity decisions based upon cost-benefit analysis. © 2007 Thomson South-Western

Summary • Common resources are rival but not excludable. • Because people are not charged for their use of common resources, they tend to use them excessively. • Governments tend to try to limit the use of common resources. © 2007 Thomson South-Western