Public goods
Economics.
1.
Examples of 'pure' public goods include flood control, street lighting, policing and national defence.
The definition of public goods includes non-rivalry and non-excludability.
Non-rivalry means that when a public good is enjoyed, it doesn’t reduce the amount available for other people.
Non-excludability means that it is not possible both to provide such a good and prevent others enjoying it.
For this reason, 'pure' public goods are more likely to be efficiently provided by the public sector, rather than by the private sector.
2.
By extension, 'public goods' may also refer to any services which - its advocates argue - should be provided by the public sector, whether or not they are 'pure' public goods in the sense defined above.
Examples include health and education services.
