First published Wed Jul 21, 2021
首次发布于 2021年6月21日 周三
The government plays a significant role in providing goods such as national defence, infrastructure, education, security, and fire and environmental protection almost everywhere. These goods are often referred to as “public goods”. Public goods are of philosophical interest because their provision is, to varying degrees, essential to the smooth functioning of society—economically, politically, and culturally—and because of their close connection to problems concerning the regulation of externalities and the free-rider problem. Without infrastructure and their protection goods cannot be exchanged, votes cannot be cast, and it would be harder to enjoy the fruits of cultural production. There is widespread agreement among political philosophers that some level of education is required for democracy to be effective. Due to their connection to externalities and the free-rider problem, the provision of public goods raises profound economic and ethical issues.
政府在提供国防、基础设施、教育、安全以及消防和环境保护等方面发挥着重要作用，其影响无处不在。这些产品或服务通常被称为 "公共物品"。公共物品具有哲学意义，因为无论在经济、政治还是文化方面，公共物品的供应在不同程度上对社会的平稳运转都至关重要，也因为它们与对外部性的监管和搭便车问题密切相关。离开基础设施及对其的保护，商品就无法交换，选票就无法投出，社会也就更难享受到文化生产的成果。要维护民主的有效性，就需要一定程度的教育，这是政治哲学家们的普遍共识。公共物品与外部性和搭便车问题之间的关联，引发了深刻的经济和伦理问题。
<aside> 💡 政府在提供国防、基础设施、教育、安全以及消防和环境保护等产品或服务方面发挥着重要作用，其影响无处不在。这些产品或服务通常被称为“公共物品”。公共物品具有哲学意义，因为无论是在经济、政治还是文化方面，公共物品的供应在不同程度上对社会的平稳运转都至关重要，也因为它们与外部因素的监管和搭便车问题密切相关。离开基础设施及对其的保护，商品就无法交换，选票就无法投出，社会也就更难享受到文化生产的成果。要维护民主的有效性，就需要一定程度的教育，这是政治哲学家们的普遍共识。公共物品与外部性和搭便车问题之间的关联，引发了深刻的经济和伦理问题。
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As we will see in Section 1, the economic definition of a public good has little to do with whether these goods are provided by the public or by private enterprises but with certain abstract features that are shared by many different goods, only some of which are regularly produced publicly. The abstract features economists use in their definition depend on technology, values and tastes, making boundaries contested and shifting over time. Section 2 will introduce the notion of an externality, and in Section 3 the standard neoclassical welfare economic analysis of public goods will be examined. Section 4 looks at the private provision of public goods. Section 5 offers a review of recent experimental work on public goods (which challenges the standard analysis to some extent). Section 6, finally, discusses some ethical arguments relevant to the provision of public goods.
第一节中会提到，公共物品的经济学定义几乎无关于这些物品是由公共单位还是由私营企业提供，它与各种不同的商品都具有某些共同的抽象特征，而这些商品中只有一部分是定期公开生产的。经济学家在定义中使用的抽象特征取决于技术，价值观和品味，这使得定义的界限处于遭受质疑并随着时间而变化的状态。第 2 节将引入外部性的概念，在第3节中将研究对公共物品的标准新古典福利经济学分析。第4节着眼于公共物品的私人供应。第5节回顾了近期关于公共物品的实证工作（这在一定程度上挑战了标准分析）。最后，第6节讨论了与公共物品供应有关的一些道德论点。
<aside> 💡 第 1 节中会提到，公共物品的经济学定义几乎无关于这些物品是由公共单位还是由私营企业提供，它与各种不同的商品都具有某些共同的抽象特征，而这些商品中只有一部分是定期公开生产的。经济学家在定义中使用的抽象特征取决于技术，价值观和品味，这使得定义的界限处于遭受质疑并随着时间而变化的状态。第 2 节将引入外部性的概念，在第 3 节中将研究对公共物品的标准新古典福利经济学分析。第 4 节着眼于公共物品的私人供应。第 5 节回顾了近期关于公共物品的实证工作（这在一定程度上挑战了标准分析）。最后，第 6 节讨论了与公共物品供应有关的一些道德论点。
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