Private Individuals Never Pay for Streetlights Citizenship: Consumer Economics
About the Unit In the Consumer Economics Unit we will be exploring the following questions: How do banks and other financial institutions make money? What is a public company? What are public services? What is the purpose of education? Why is employment important? What effect does income inequality have?
Public Goods and Services
Video 20eFYBsig 20eFYBsig
Historical Examples 500BCE - In Athens (Ancient Greece) indirect taxes are used to pay for city festivals, temples, and walls to protect the city The first patent is issued to an italian engineer who invented a crane to hoist items onto barges The Communist Manifesto advocates for the common ownership of labor and equipment by workers. 19th Century (1800’s) - Public street lightening is introduced in Europe and North America A US economist develops a modern theory of public goods/services.
Summary Public goods/services are those that anyone can benefit from without preventing others from doing the same, are not provided by private firms because they can’t prevent non-payers from using them, and are provided by governments because they are usually essential to the public good.