----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- 
 
I surely agree with Robin Neill's attempt at definition! One who aims 
to present a history of X ought to begin with a definition of X. 
 
Let us take the modern definition of a public good, for example that which 
is 
taught to principles students by Harper and Row's Mankiw text. This is 
based on 
the two pillars of non-exclusion and non-rivalry, or jointness. 
 
Although I haven't studied the history of these concepts, my first exposure 
to 
these ideas was through the work of J. G. Head. (I think that he has a book 
of 
collected works by now.) I only have two references handy (listed below). I 
doubt that these concepts go very far back in history, although one can 
certainly find discussions about free riders and "public works." 
 
At the risk of sounding ahistorical, I see very little relationship between 
the 
modern theory and the approaches to public goods that developed before the 
1960s. Let me explain why. 
 
The revolutionary theory of property rights (following Coase's 1960 paper 
on 
Social Cost) developed concurrently with this "new" public goods 
literature. 
This theory zeroed in on the non-exclusion characteristic and developed it 
in a 
direction that had no precedent of which I am aware. The result of this 
development was that shortly after public goods were defined in the modern 
terms, the concept of non-exclusion was enormously enriched by people like 
Harold Demsetz. Coase's famous 1974 was enlightening in more ways than one. 
 
So, in my humble view, there are three stages of development of the theory 
of 
public goods: the dark ages, the identification and formalization of the 
concept of jointness in the work of Erik Lindahl and later Samuelson, and 
the 
post 1960s of those who adopted Head's scheme and who also mastered 
property 
rights theory. (Head's original article may have been published in 1959, I 
am 
uncertain.) 
 
 
Coase, R. H. (1974) "The Lighthouse in Economics." Journal of Law and 
Economics. 17 (October): 357-376. 
 
Demsetz, Harold (1970) "The Private Production of Public Goods." Journal of 
Law 
and Economics. 13: 293-306. 
 
Demsetz, Harold. (1993) "The Private Production of Public Goods, Once 
Again." 
Critical Review. 7: 559-566. 
 
Head, J. G., "Public Goods and Public Policy," Public Finance, Vol. 17, 
1962. 
 
Head, J. G., "Public Goods: The Polar Case Reconsidered," Economic Record, 
June 
1977. 
 
 
------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ 
For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]