Microeconomics chapter 16 quiz: Public Goods and Public Choice

a good such as ocean fish that is rival in consumption but nonpayers cannot be excluded easily

because nobody can be easily excluded from consuming a public good, some people may try to reap the benefits of the good without paying for it

under certain conditions, the preferences of the median, or middle, voter will dominate the preferences of all other voters

a stance adopted by voters when they realize that the cost of understanding and voting on a particular issue exceeds the benefit expected from doing so

legislation that involves widespread costs and widespread benefits- nearly everyone pays and nearly everyone benefits (ex: national defense, a justice system, cancer research)

legislation with concentrated benefits but widespread cost (benefits a small group)- support for dairy products

special-interest legislation with narrow geographical benefits but funded by all taxpayers

legislation with widespread benefits but concentrated costs

legislation that confers concentrated benefits on one group by imposing concentrated costs on another group (EX: labor unions vs employers, steel makers vs steel-using industries, sugar growers vs industries that buy sugar by the truckload)

an expression used to describe market activity that goes unreported either because it is illegal or because those involved want to evade taxes

Government agencies charged with implementing legislation and financed by appropriations from legislative bodies