Politická ekonomie 1998, 46(6) | DOI: 10.18267/j.polek.264

Public Goods and Publicly Provided Goods

Ivan Malý

There seems to be an inaccuracy concerning the concept of public goods in the common Czech language. While the most scholars define this concept using some specific characteristics of its consumption, for instance education and health services are calls "public goods" by public often because they are publicly provided. This leads to some statements as "the government has to finance health care services because they are public goods". Such an arbitrary definition of public goods is possible, but it is not correct if we want to use the concept as an example of objective micro-economic market failure. We believe the characteristics of consumption of public goods have the objective nature and there is no way to put them under any arbitrary judgement. The human "right" for the better health can be accepted by society, but it does not mean that there is non-exclusion from the consumption of health cervices.

Published: December 1, 1998  Show citation

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Malý, I. (1998). Public Goods and Publicly Provided Goods. Politická ekonomie46(6), . doi: 10.18267/j.polek.264
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