62 Examples of Public Goods

John Spacey, March 06, 2023

A public good is a good that is non-excludable and nondepletable such that the entire public can use it without it being exhausted. These can be natural situations such as clean air where a resource is plentiful such that everyone can enjoy it. Public goods can also be created by the rights and freedoms of a society, such a right to education whereby the state is obliged to provide a public service. The following are illustrative examples of public goods.

Blue spaces and access to rivers and lakes	Bridges
Canals	Clean air
Clean water	Disaster relief
Disaster response	Drinking fountains
Emergency services	Emergency services
Emergency shelters	Endangered species protection
Environmental protection	Farmers markets
Fire protection	Flood control infrastructure
Green spaces	Harbors
Law enforcement and rule of law	National defense
National parks	Nature conservation and animal welfare
Playgrounds	Public animal shelters and rescues
Public art	Public beaches
Public bike racks	Public boat docks and launches
Public broadcasting	Public campgrounds and picnic areas
Public education	Public forests
Public gardens	Public healthcare
Public information	Public infrastructure
Public libraries	Public marinas
Public meeting spaces	Public monuments and memorials
Public museums	Public nature areas
Public parks and trails	Public performance spaces
Public piers	Public playgrounds and fields
Public recreation centers	Public restrooms
Public space	Public sports and recreational facilities
Public swimming pools	Public transportation
Public wifi	Public zoos and aquariums
Recycling programs	Recycling services
Roads and bike lanes	Sidewalks
Street lighting	Traffic control
Waste management	Wildlife conservation areas

Government Services

Generally speaking, public goods are provided by governments. This is one of the primary purposes of government. Public goods include government services such as education. It is also common for governments to have laws and regulations that defend public goods. For example, a right for the public to access all the beaches on a coastline or island that makes these resources non-excludable.

Public Bads

Public bads are negative things that effect everyone such as air pollution. These are also non-excludable whereby nobody can completely avoid some type of negative exposure to them.

Notes

As an economics term, goods must be strictly non-excludable and nondepletable to be considered public. For example, a public restroom has a capacity or could run out of supplies. However, it is also common to take the more pragmatic view that restrooms with sufficient capacity and operational support are effectively there for anyone who needs them such that they can be considered public goods.

Overview: Public Goods
Type	Social Infrastructure
Definition	Value that is non-excludable and nondepletable such that it can be used by the entire public.
Related Concepts	Social Infrastructure » Rights » Freedoms » Public Service » Goods »