Public goods: examples. Clean and mixed public goods

Public goods, examples of which will be given below, represent the values consumed by all citizens collectively. Their use does not depend on whether the population pays for them or not. Next, let us examine in more detail public goods: the types and characteristics of these values.

General information

Private and public goods have significant differences. As was said above, all citizens collectively use the second. The former are available for consumption and benefit the immediate owner. Private and public goods differ in the issue of making deals with them. The second is almost impossible to sell. Public goods and services are used by citizens with great pleasure. However, many individuals refuse to pay their benefits.

Clean and mixed public goods

There are certain signs, according to which the classification of values is carried out. So, there is a division into pure and mixed public goods. The first ones are those that have signs of non-exclusion and non-selectivity. The characteristics that are used in the classification can have different levels of manifestation. So, for example, two attributes can be characterized by indiscriminate and non-excludable characteristics, but in one of them these characteristics are manifested in a lesser or more degree. In addition, there is a combination of properties for a particular value.

Indiscriminate and non-excludable

Provision of pure public goods to one individual is impossible without the participation of other citizens. As a result, there is a collective consumption. Each individual uses the benefits of good. In this case, the utility that is extracted from it by other citizens, does not decrease. Nobody can be excluded from the number of people who use these public goods. Examples of this can be summarized as follows: each citizen benefits from a weather forecast, while not reducing the usefulness that is extracted by others. The same applies to visiting libraries, driving on motorways.

General Categories

There are the following types of benefits:

• Informational. They include "continuous" public goods. Examples: television, radio.
• Limited use. Such benefits are available to a certain number of consumers at one time. They include an automobile bridge during the "peak" hour.
• Local. These are public goods available to representatives of a particular social group or region. Examples: regional libraries, parks, squares.
• Discrete (museum exhibits, paintings in galleries), free (activities of strong points of order protection), with negative (higher education, courses) and positive (public transport) price.

To provide the public with public goods, it is necessary to attract private ones. The volumes of the latter are limited by the total state revenues, which are formed, in particular, through the receipt of a variety of fees and taxes.

Mixed goods

There are many subtypes in this category. As stated above, the attributes inherent in the benefits can be represented in one way or another combination. Thus, non-selectivity can be combined with exclusion and vice versa. In this regard, you can also name other examples of public goods. There are values that are distinguished by a low level of non-exclusivity and high selectivity. They are called common (for sharing) benefits. They include places on the free beach. They are available to all citizens. But if one person takes a place on the beach, they will not be able to use another person. In this regard, it receives signs of selectivity. As a special feature of the general benefits, the fact that the restriction of their use entails significant costs. Most often they are provided at the local (regional) level. This category includes such examples of public goods: public spaces, parks, parking lots and others. In this regard, they are called "communal". Joint consumption in this case determines a high level of competition in relation to their use. It is a question of the principle "who came first, that and used."

Collective values

Not all clearly understand the existing division. Therefore, many consumers ask more competent citizens in this matter: "Give examples of public goods of collective use." To begin with, it should be said that such values are characterized by a low degree of selectivity and a high level of non-exclusivity. One of the most striking examples is the receipt of information on the Internet. Many people can use this opportunity at the same time. The marginal costs of increasing the number of consumers remain zero at the same time. This, in turn, means that competitiveness (selectivity) when consuming this good is of a low degree. However, giving him the sign of the exclusion of labor is not. This is achieved through the introduction of a fee for connecting to the Internet. As a feature of such benefits is the possibility of limiting access to them with relatively low costs.

Government support

The number of public goods is much less than the number of government goods. Many public goods are considered to be excludable or competitive in use, and in some cases, both have these characteristics. Here it can be said about the provision of secondary education. With an increase in the number of students, the costs are positive. This is due to the fact that the other schoolchildren in this case will receive less attention because of their greater number. In this case, the sign of exclusion benefits such a benefit when introducing fees for study. If some of the students can not make it, they will be excluded from the education process in this class.

Specificity of demand

Necessity in this or that good is formed on the basis of the principle of decreasing marginal utility. Due to the fact that this benefit from the use of the additional unit is decreasing, the individual demand line is characterized by a downward slope. Similarly, there is a demand curve of a private pure good. However, behind this external similarity, great differences are hidden. First of all, this is the sale of pure public goods "by the piece" is impossible. This is due to the fact that they are considered inseparable and are used together by all people. Their consumption is not the exclusive right of individuals. These benefits can be used even by those who decide not to pay for them. For a unit in this case, the value is not assigned, and consumers can use the entire issue volume. In other words, at a particular time they consume a single amount of good.

Market mechanism

In some cases, with its use, it is possible to exclude compulsory financing of the release of public goods. In such situations, they are supplied by individual farms. Funding is provided through a market mechanism. It allows to implement such methods of provision as the exclusion of "free riders", as well as interdependent subsidies and financing. In the first case, restrictive measures are used to block access to consumption. Due to low costs in this case, the good, even with selectivity, can be sold in the same way as private.

The role of the state

The government incurs expenses that are related to the provision of benefits to society in the event that external positive effects arising from their use are not amenable to internalization or this is due to very high costs. So, the state can be directly the manufacturer. For example, it could be a fight with PE or ensuring internal security. Also, the government can finance the release of goods by the private sector, participating in the construction of schools, hospitals and other things. In all cases, the receipt of funds from the state is carried out at the expense of taxes deducted by citizens. The decision on the optimal volume of production is based on collective actions. When public goods are provided by the state, the effective volume of their production is not always achieved. The application of the tax mechanism requires solving a set of problems that are related to the achievement of the required volume of output.