Characteristics of Public and Private Goods

Steps:

• Recall that private goods are rivalrous (one person's use reduces availability for others) and excludable (non-payers can be prevented from use).
• Recall that public goods are non-rivalrous (one person's use doesn't reduce availability for others) and non-excludable (impossible or costly to prevent non-payers from benefiting).
• Evaluate each option against these definitions to identify the accurate statement.
• Confirm C matches the standard definition of public goods.

Why C is correct:

• Public goods are defined in economics as both non-rival (consumption by one doesn't diminish another's) and non-excludable (free-rider problem prevents exclusion), per Samuelson's public goods criterion.

Why the others are wrong:

• A: Private goods are defined by rivalry and excludability, not necessarily provision by the private sector (governments can provide them too).
• B: Private goods are rival and excludable, but "only" is imprecise; the statement ignores that provision and other factors vary.
• D: All scarce resources, including public goods, incur opportunity costs as using them for one purpose forgoes alternatives.

Final answer: C