Public Goods and Common Resources

According to Chapter 11, what are the two primary characteristics used to classify different kinds of goods in an economy?

A good is considered 'excludable' if:

Which of the following is the best example of a public good?

What is the 'free-rider problem'?

The Tragedy of the Commons results when a good is:

In the town council example, building a traffic light costs 10,000 dollars. It would reduce the risk of a fatal accident from 1.6 to 1.1 percent. If the value of a human life is estimated at 10 million dollars, what is the expected benefit of the traffic light?

Why does the government often provide public goods rather than the private market?

An uncongested toll road is an example of what type of good?

The case study 'Why the Cow Is Not Extinct' illustrates which key economic concept?

According to the parable of the Tragedy of the Commons, why does the common grazing land get destroyed?

Clean air and clean water are considered common resources because they are:

In the case study about lighthouses, under what condition did some lighthouses in 19th-century England operate more like private goods?

Why is performing a cost-benefit analysis for a public good, like a new highway, so difficult?

Which statement best describes the difference between the problem of public goods and the problem of common resources?

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle is quoted in the chapter to illustrate which concept?

A congested road without a toll is an example of which type of good?

Why do some economists advocate for 'congestion pricing' or 'variable tolling' on roads?

According to Chapter 11, the conclusion from the 'importance of property rights' is that:

In the town of Smalltown, with 500 residents, the total benefit of a fireworks display is 5,000 dollars and the cost is 1,000 dollars. The town council decides to pay for it by taxing each resident 2 dollars. What is the net benefit for each resident?

A local drama company's theater creates a negative externality of 5 dollars per ticket due to traffic and a positive externality of 2 dollars per ticket due to improved street safety. To achieve an efficient outcome, what policy should the government implement?

Which of the following is NOT one of the important common resources discussed in the chapter?

If four roommates are considering renting a movie for 8 dollars, and their individual willingness to pay for a third movie is 5, 3, 1, and 0 dollars respectively, should they rent the third movie to maximize total surplus?

The main lesson from the Tragedy of the Commons is that common resources tend to be:

Which of the following is an example of a government policy intended to solve the problem of a common resource?

Fire protection is considered a club good in a small town if:

In the town of Wiknam from the end-of-chapter problems, a fisherman's daily catch is X = 6 - N, where N is the number of residents fishing. Farmed fish are not a common resource. If the town's Freedom Party allows individuals to choose freely, how many residents will choose to fish in the lake?

Why is the government's role in 'fighting poverty' sometimes argued to be a public good?

The problem with common resources can be viewed as a negative externality because:

Which of the following is NOT a policy solution for the Tragedy of the Commons mentioned in the chapter?

The four categories of goods outlined in Figure 1 are:

According to the text, why might basic scientific research be underfunded by the private market?

If a town council is considering a public project, why is simply asking residents how much they value it an unreliable method for cost-benefit analysis?

In the 'In the News' article 'The Case for Toll Roads,' what economic problem is congestion pricing designed to solve?

An ice-cream cone is an example of a:

The Tragedy of the Commons can be avoided if:

If a new startup company develops a new, more efficient method for solar power generation, this new knowledge could be considered to have a positive externality because:

In the town of Wiknam, the efficient number of fishermen is 2, which yields a total catch of 12 fish (4 from farming, 8 from the lake). The free-market outcome is 4 fishermen, yielding a total catch of 10 fish (2 from farming, 8 from the lake). To achieve the efficient outcome, what corrective tax T on fishing should be imposed?

Why do governments use tax revenue to fund antipoverty programs like food stamps?

If a wireless, high-speed internet service at an airport is free but becomes slower as more people use it, it has transformed from a _____ to a _____.

What is the general lesson of the parable of the Tragedy of the Commons?

In the town council example, if the cost of the traffic light was 60,000 dollars instead of 10,000 dollars, what would a cost-benefit analysis conclude?

According to the chapter, why do private firms typically not spend much on basic research compared to applied research?

The enclosure movement in 17th-century England is an example of:

If a good is rival in consumption and excludable, it is a:

If a good is non-rival in consumption and non-excludable, it is a:

A key difference between public goods and private goods is the:

A town park is a common resource when it is congested because:

The two main problems that prevent an easy solution to the overuse of oceans as a common resource are:

In the town of Smalltown, 500 residents are considering a fireworks display. If the cost is 1,200 dollars and each resident values the display at 2 dollars, what is the efficient decision?

What is the primary reason that a market with a common resource, like an unregulated fishery, leads to an inefficient outcome?