An example of a public good is _____. a) a Honda Accord b) a movie theater c) a Boeing 747 d) a lighthouse

Non-excludable goods are products or services that individuals cannot be prevented from accessing or using. A classic characteristic of these goods is that once they are provided, no one can be easily excluded from enjoying their benefits, even if they have not paid for them.

Take for example a public park. Anyone can visit and enjoy the park, regardless of whether they have contributed to its maintenance or not. In the textbook problem we discussed, a lighthouse was identified as a non-excludable good because once it's built, its light can guide all nearby ships, regardless of whether or not those receiving the guidance have paid for it.

Items that are non-rivalrous can be consumed by one person without preventing simultaneous consumption by others. Non-rivalrous goods do not deplete in availability as more people benefit from them.

An example is a public broadcast, like a radio show, where one listener tuning in doesn't hinder others from enjoying the same broadcast. In our exercise, the light from the lighthouse is a non-rivalrous benefit because multiple ships can use its light to navigate without diminishing the light available to others, exhibiting the non-rivalrous nature of true public goods.

In contrast to public goods, private goods are both excludable and rivalrous. Ownership rights can restrict access, and consumption by one individual typically reduces the amount available for others.

This is easily understood when considering items such as clothing or a car, like a Honda Accord. When a person buys a shirt, they can stop others from wearing it, making it excludable. The item is also rivalrous; once a person is using the shirt, it can't be worn by someone else at the same time. Other examples we've seen, like a Boeing 747 or movie theater seats, are also private goods because their use by one person prevents immediate use by another, showing the rivalrous and excludable nature of private goods.

Economic resources refer to the inputs used to produce goods and services that are valuable to society. These can be categorized into land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship. Each resource plays a vital role in the creation of both public and private goods.

For a public good like a lighthouse, resources include the land it is built on, the labor for construction and maintenance, the capital equipment for lighting and structure, and the entrepreneurial effort to manage its operations. Understanding economic resources is crucial because they are the building blocks for all goods and services within an economy, determining a nation's wealth and the welfare of its citizens.