Hi! Thanks for the question.
I will provide small snippets from some of the articles I will cite
but I highly recommend that you read them in their entirety to get a
better grasp of the subject.
The differences between public and private goods are discussed below.
a. Public Goods – “The characteristics of pure public goods are such
that they would not be produced at all by the private sector in a
market economy. The production of public goods requires government
intervention. Public goods will be provided to a society using a
market economy only if the government intervenes to force their
production.”
“Pure public goods are INDIVISIBLE. They come in large units and
cannot be sold on a per unit basis to individual buyers. Some examples
include national defense, a lighthouse on a rocky coast, the
administration of justice, air traffic control, flood control, and
insect abatement programs."
“Pure public goods are not subject to the EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE. Users
cannot be excluded. Once a public good has been produced, all members
of society will receive benefits from it, whether or not they have
helped to pay for it. Once a lighthouse has been been built and its
light turned on, the light is there for all ship captains to see."
b. Private Goods – “They are DIVISIBLE. They come in units small
enough to be sold on a per unit basis. They can purchased by
individuals in the market place. Producers can price and sell them per
units.”
“They are subject to the EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE. It is possible to
exclude people from receiving benefits from a private good.”
“TYPES OF GOODS”
http://academic.pg.cc.md.us/~mchaires/goods.htm
It seems that the examples you mentioned can be classified, according
to the definition above, as public goods. Public schools, public
libraries, a highway with tollbooths, a lighthouse and national
defense are seen as all public goods. The reason for this is that the
government produces all of these, they are indivisible and they are
not subject to the exclusion principle.
Another link provides a list of more examples of public goods.
“Examples of Public Goods”
http://www.econ.ucsb.edu/~rabbit/econ100b/peterpp/newch35/tsld005.htm
But I am of the opinion that highway with tollbooths cannot be
considered as pure public goods since if a motorist has a choice of
where to pass because of the different tollbooth fees then a
particular tollbooth can be said as having an exclusivity factor. Only
those that can afford a particular tollbooth’s fee will pass that way.
This is the case here in the Philippines wherein because of monstrous
traffic jams, the government built another extension of the highway
(called the Skyway). There is relatively low traffic but the fees are
too high that very few motorists avail of this.
Other articles that maybe of help to you are the following:
“Pure Public Goods: Definitions and Examples”
http://dept.econ.yorku.ca/~sam/4080/pubgoods1.html
Glossary
http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/Y2006E/y2006e0g.htm
Public Goods
http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/index.html?http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/public_goods.html
“Public Goods as A Category Mistake”
http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/docs/pubgood.htm
Search terms used:
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I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if
you would need further information.
Thanks for visiting us again.
Regards,
Easterangel-ga
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