economics 481

Please answe both questions no more than 250 words, these are short answer questions do not need 2-3 page answers.

 

Identify a product that you have consumed in the past couple of months and explain what makes the product a public good, based on the characteristics of a public good as defined in this week’s textbook readings.

 

• Discuss two (2) reasons why the government only supplies public goods. Provide specific examples to support your response

 

Txtbook readings ” A  public good is available for everyone to
utilize, regardless of who pays for it and who doesn’t. More precisely, a public good
is  nonrival in consumption: The fact that one person benefits from a good does not
prevent another person from benefiting. For example, the fact that I benefit from a
flood-control dam doesn’t reduce your benefit from the dam. Public goods are also
 nonexcludable : It is impractical to exclude people who don’t pay. Some examples of
public goods are national defense, law enforcement, space exploration, the preserva-
tion of endangered species, the protection of the earth’s ozone layer, and fireworks
shows. If someone refuses to pay for one of these public goods, it would be impractical
to prevent that person from consuming or benefiting from the good.”