Consumers will not voluntarily pay for what they can get for free and for which there is no exclusive title to the property being enjoyed. These non-paying users are known as .... |
Private goods. Public goods. Free-goods. Free-riders. |
Free-riders. |
The correct answer is Option (4) → Free-riders. The situation described is known as the free-rider problem. When a good is non-excludable (no one can be prevented from using it) and non-rivalrous (one person’s use doesn’t reduce its availability to others), individuals may enjoy its benefits without paying for it. Such individuals are called free-riders. Example: People benefiting from street lighting, national defense, or public parks without directly paying for them. |