Similarities of public goods and merit goods?
The strict definition of a Public Good is that it can be consumed jointly by many individuals at once without diminishing the quantity or quality of the available good or service, therefore, the concept of rival consumption does not apply.
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The concept of exclusion also does not apply to Public Goods as no-one can be denied the benefit of a public good for reasons of non payment – the Free Rider concept.
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Examples of Public Goods – clean air, protection from foreign invasion by a defense force etc.
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Merit Goods are those which the government or society has deemed beneficial or desirable…the benefits of merit goods are usually greater than they seem to the free market or individual. If the free market was left to provide these goods or services, it would probably undervalue them and not commit enough resources to their production.
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There are “externalities/spill over” benefits to Merit Goods that the individual or Price Market might overlook or undervalue.
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Merit Good examples – museums, social programs, music education in schools etc. Intervention by society to help drug addicts – anti smoking goods or services,
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Public Goods can be also be Merit Goods, but not all Merit Goods are Public Goods