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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.
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