The Traditional Distinction between Public and Private Goods Needs to Be Expanded, Not Abandoned

Roy D. Adams and Ken McCormick

Journal of Theoretical Politics, 1993, vol. 5, issue 1, 109-116

Abstract: Observations that goods and services cannot legitimately be divided into just two categories - private and public - have led to a proposal, published in this journal, that the traditional concept of public goods be abandoned. In this paper it is suggested that the problems of the private versus public dichotomy be solved by expanding the taxonomy, not by abandoning it. Non-rivalry and non-excludability are independent characteristics (i.e. one can exist without the other), and they can be present in varying degrees (i.e. they are not all-or-nothing characteristics). Recognizing this, an expanded taxonomy is constructed which is not subject to the valid criticisms which have been made of the too simple private versus public dichotomy.

Keywords: club goods; market failure; private goods; public goods; role of government (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1993
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jothpo:v:5:y:1993:i:1:p:109-116

DOI: 10.1177/0951692893005001005

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