ABSTRACT
The concept of global public good (GPG) draws from at least two theoretical backgrounds. The first one relates to the extension to the global level of the public good theory developed in the 1950s by the economist and Nobel laureate Paul Samuelson. It builds on the two attributes of publicness (as opposed to private goods): non-rivalry (no one is affected by the consumption of these goods by others) and nonexcludability (no one can be excluded from their consumption). In the case of GPG, these two attributes span across national boundaries: the public good has benefits that extend across national sovereignty, substantial cross-border externalities and is consumed by all. Sunlight or climate stability are two classic illustrations of non-rival and non-excludable goods at the global level (for a discussion on non-excludable but rival goods, see Tragedy of the commons). With globalization and increased interdependence between countries, public goods increasingly acquire such global scope.
