Critical Thinking Questions
Can a company be guaranteed all of the social benefits of a new invention? Why or why not?
Is it inevitable that government must become involved in supporting investments in new technology?
How do public television stations, such as PBS, try to overcome the free rider problem?
Why is a football game on ESPN a quasi-public good but a game on the NBC, CBS, or ABC a public good?
Provide two examples of goods/services that are classified as private goods/services, even though they are provided by a federal government.
Radio stations, tornado sirens, lighthouses, and street lights are all public goods in that all are nonrivalrous and nonexclusionary. Therefore, why does the government provide tornado sirens, street lights, and lighthouses but not radio stations (other than PBS stations)?