Public school are an example of a public good. The costs of providing this good include the cost of building the school, the cost of the property the school is on, and the utility costs of maintaining and operating the building. There are also the salary costs for the teachers and other employees of the school, the cost of transportation and the cost of the materials and equipment. The benefits are that members of the community will be educated, as well as providing jobs for the community. The good could be provided privately where the parents of children attending the school had to pay for it. However, households without children would be the free-riders, reaping the benefits of an educated community without paying for it.
This chapter did make me think about public goods differently. I never thought about the mechanics of public goods and why the government really needs to pay for these goods. Now I understand that, because of free-riding, it's the most efficient way to allocate the resources for everyone's benefit.
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