public good
PUB-lik gud
/ˈpʌblɪk ɡʊd/
A commodity or service provided without profit to all members of a society, characterized by non-excludability and non-rivalry.
Must be both non-excludable (impossible to stop non-payers using it) and non-rivalrous (one person's use does not diminish another's).
The story behind the word. Formalized by Paul Samuelson in his groundbreaking 1954 paper 'The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure', defining mathematical conditions for goods that private markets fail to supply efficiently.
Word relationships
- collective good: Collective good is practically synonymous, though public good has precise technical criteria in economics.
- private good: A private good is both excludable (requires payment) and rivalrous (consumption reduces availability).
Commonly confused with
- free-rider: Public good is the asset provided; free-rider is the person taking advantage of its non-excludable nature.
Collocations
- pure public good
- provide a public good
- global public good
Idioms & expressions
- for the public good
Example sentences
- "A coastal lighthouse is a textbook public good because ships cannot be excluded from seeing its beacon." Public finance textbook
- "Clean ambient air acts as a global public good that requires international treaties to protect." Environmental policy paper
Memory hook
PUBLIC = Open to everyone, GOOD = Non-rivalrous benefit. Non-excludable and non-rivalrous.
When not to use
Do not use for goods provided by government that are rivalrous or excludable (e.g., state-owned toll roads).
Fun facts
- Street lighting is one of the classic examples of a public good because turning on a lamp lights the street for everyone nearby at zero extra marginal cost.
Related words
Explore more words
Pro bono, communal, renewable, distributive, sustainable, subsidy
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