ABSTRACT
This chapter examines different types of goods: public goods and common resources. Because of their nature, public goods and common resources can be a source of market failure. A public good is a good or service that is non-excludable and non-rival. Common resources are often thought of as 'partial' public goods because they are non-excludable, but rivalrous. Examples of common resource goods might be: fishing stocks on the high seas; mineral deposits where there is no effective government oversight; or use of a road or a bridge that the government cannot, or chooses not to, restrict the use of. A donut is a private good because it is possible to refuse to sell or give someone a donut and because the same donut can only be consumed once. Many publicly-owned goods are not public goods. For example, it is not unusual for services such as water supply, health care and telecommunications to be provided by the government.
