Abstract
Abstract Some important goods are public. An example is national defense. Suppose the Netherlands were to build an anti‐ballistic missile system. Because the Netherlands is a very small country, to protect one Dutch person – the Dutch queen – the system would have to be able to eliminate any ballistic missile targeting any part of the Netherlands. Once such a system has been built it will, at no extra cost, protect all Dutch citizens, so the good produced by the system will be joint in supply. Moreover, the good will be non‐exclusive. It is impossible to withhold protection specifically from Dutch citizens who are unwilling to pay for it. Other examples of public goods include unpolluted air, the ozone layer, avoidance of global warming ( see Climate Change), radio signals, and the rule of the law.
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