Goods or services which are provided by government, generally in cases where the private sector will not provide them because the conditions of non-exclusion and/or shared consumption make it unprofitable for private businesses to do so.

goods and services for which there are no formal markets or prices in a country and where consumption by one does not prevent consumption by others

Goods and services are supplied by the government because it is not sufficiently profitable for the private sector to do so. This term is also applied to resources that are said not to be diminished by their consumption by any single person.

Goods that are available for all to consume regardless of who pays and who does not pay.

In economic terms a public good means consumption by one party does not prohibit the consumption by others, once created it is very difficult to exclude people from consuming the good, and by the same token produces large benefits for those who don’t cover the costs of providing the good. Commonly used examples of public goods include peace, the eradication of a disease, national security, lighthouses, traffic lights, law enforcement, water services, and education.

Goods that are nonrival- consumption by one person does not reduce the supply available for others- and nonexcludable- people cannot be prevented from consuming them. These characteristics make it impossible to charge consumers for public goods, so the private sector is not interested in supplying them. Instead, they are often supplied by government. Public goods are usually national or local. Defense is a national public good- benefiting the entire population of a country. Rural roads are local public goods, benefiting a smaller group of people. There can also be global public goods, benefiting most of the world's population, for example global peace and security, or information needed to prevent global climate change. Providing such goods (and services) is a function of international organizations.

A commodity whose benefits are indivisibly spread among the entire community, whether or not particular individuals desire to consume the public good. For example, a public-health measure that eradicates smallpox protects all, not just those paying for the vaccinations. These goods are often provided by the government. To be contrasted with private goods.

Public goods are goods that would not be provided in a pure free-market system. This is because they are goods that display two particular characteristics: Non-rivalry - consumption by one person does not reduce the amount available for others. Non-excludability - once the good is provided it is impossible to stop people consuming it even if they haven't paid. An example of this is defence. It is impossible to charge people for defence as they consume it as the whole country is being defended at once. Also one person being defended does not stop others being defended.

goods whose consumption cannot be limited only to the person who purchased the good

Goods characterized by very low levels of subtractibility and excludability, by contrast with Private goods above. Low subtractability implies that a good is available to all consumers at the same time, and consumption by one consumer does not use up or reduce the supply available for another consumer. Low excludability implies that if a good is provided to a consumer in a defined region then other consumers in that region cannot be easily excluded from consuming the same good. An example of a pure public good is national security, which is available to all citizens of a country simultaneously. Several other goods are quasi-public, having low levels of subtractibility and excludability. Public goods are generally provided under public ownership, although several can be provided, through contract and regulation, under private ownership.

Goods that cannot be withheld from people even if they don't pay for them.

Also known as collective goods, public goods are goods that cannot easily be denied to others once allocation and payment for goods are provided. In addition, the use of a public good by one does not deny the use of that good by others. For example, providing clear air and water or providing national security can be considered as public goods.

benefit that can be enjoyed by other people, even if they did not pay for the benefit. There is no way to exclude someone from benefiting from a public good.

These are products or services that would not be produced in a pure free-market system. An example of a public good would be national defense.

Goods or amenities which are free for all to use, and from which nobody can be excluded