The private vs public good debate is arbitrary. The social cost of free high quality ___ may vary well be negative based on ____. You have costs and both public and private benefits and that my change based on cost over time.
EX: There is significant evidence the cheapest way to improve the public education system is to provide free, healthy, and tasty foods to students. Students are both better behaved, have better attendance, and are better able to learn. However, people seem more willing to pay for apple laptops than apples.
Edit: I am aware that's a common economic definition of the term, it's still crap.
The definition breaks down for some of the earliest forms of public goods like irrigation systems. Roads and bridges are either 'rivalrous and excludible' or at best a major grey area. So, unless you want to really twist the definition it's simply a poor metric.
PS: Digital copy's of music is another area where excludible is debatable. Library books are another example where they are considered a public good even though they are both 'rivalrous and excludible'.
Comments
The private vs public good debate is arbitrary. The social cost of free high quality ___ may vary well be negative based on ____. You have costs and both public and private benefits and that my change based on cost over time.
EX: There is significant evidence the cheapest way to improve the public education system is to provide free, healthy, and tasty foods to students. Students are both better behaved, have better attendance, and are better able to learn. However, people seem more willing to pay for apple laptops than apples.
A good is either rivalrous and excludible, or it's not. If it is, it's private. If it is neither rivalrous nor excludible, it's public.
This has nothing to do with the "social cost" (whatever that is).
Edit: I am aware that's a common economic definition of the term, it's still crap.
The definition breaks down for some of the earliest forms of public goods like irrigation systems. Roads and bridges are either 'rivalrous and excludible' or at best a major grey area. So, unless you want to really twist the definition it's simply a poor metric.
PS: Digital copy's of music is another area where excludible is debatable. Library books are another example where they are considered a public good even though they are both 'rivalrous and excludible'.