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==Quasi-public goods==
It is generally accepted that the utilitarian criterion of welfare maximisation proposed by Jeremy Bentham <ref> Jeremy Bentham: ''An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation'', Oxford University Press, 1970</ref> that is used elsewhere in economics<ref> See the article on [[welfare economics]]</ref> yields unacceptable results when applied to questions of distribution because of its effects upon motivation. In its place the philosopher John Rawls proposed the "difference principle", requiring that there should be no more inequality than would be required for the benefit of the least well off <ref> John Rawls: ''A Theory of Justice'', Harvard University Press, 1971</ref>, but the political philosopher Will Kymlicka argued that that too could have averse motivational consequences<ref> Will Kymlicka: ''Contemporary Political Philosophy'', Clarendon Press, 1989</ref>. The legal philosopher Ronald Dworkin proposed the adoption of an "equality of resources" criterion<ref> Ronald Dworkin: ''Sovereign Virtue'', Hasvard University Press, 2002</ref>, and the eminent economist Amartya Sen proposed instead the concept of "equality of capability"<ref> Amartya Sen: ''The Idea of Justice'', Alan Lane, 2009</ref>, but the political philosopher Robert Nozick rejected  the entire concept of redistribution because it would infringe every person's inalienable right to benefit from the employment of the talents with which he is endowed<ref> Robert Nozick: ''Anarchy, State and Utopia'', Basic Books, 1974</ref>
The term "quasi-public goods" is sometimes applied to goods that can be thought of as lying on a spectrum between private goods and public goods. Examples include  goods, such as the radio transmissions, for which rivalrousness varies with congestion, and goods such as for which the excludability depends in practice on the cost of access.  
 
Besides public goods that cannot be supplied by the market, there are goods that are under-supplied by the market because they yield "external benefits for  supplier is not rewarded.  Education and the treatment of infectious diseases are example of  services that yield benefits beyond those received by those who pay for them.
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Revision as of 06:05, 30 October 2009

It is generally accepted that the utilitarian criterion of welfare maximisation proposed by Jeremy Bentham [1] that is used elsewhere in economics[2] yields unacceptable results when applied to questions of distribution because of its effects upon motivation. In its place the philosopher John Rawls proposed the "difference principle", requiring that there should be no more inequality than would be required for the benefit of the least well off [3], but the political philosopher Will Kymlicka argued that that too could have averse motivational consequences[4]. The legal philosopher Ronald Dworkin proposed the adoption of an "equality of resources" criterion[5], and the eminent economist Amartya Sen proposed instead the concept of "equality of capability"[6], but the political philosopher Robert Nozick rejected the entire concept of redistribution because it would infringe every person's inalienable right to benefit from the employment of the talents with which he is endowed[7]

  1. ↑ Jeremy Bentham: An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, Oxford University Press, 1970
  2. ↑ See the article on welfare economics
  3. ↑ John Rawls: A Theory of Justice, Harvard University Press, 1971
  4. ↑ Will Kymlicka: Contemporary Political Philosophy, Clarendon Press, 1989
  5. ↑ Ronald Dworkin: Sovereign Virtue, Hasvard University Press, 2002
  6. ↑ Amartya Sen: The Idea of Justice, Alan Lane, 2009
  7. ↑ Robert Nozick: Anarchy, State and Utopia, Basic Books, 1974
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