POLS1005 Chapter Notes - Chapter 13: Collective Action, Kyoto Protocol, Ozone Depletion
19 Jul 2018
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Document Summary
Puzzle: nearly everyone wants a cleaner and healthier environment. Externalities: costs or bene ts for stakeholders other than the actor undertaking an action. When an externality exists, the decision maker does not bear al the costs or reap all gains from his or her action. Many environmental issues take the form of a speci c type of externality known as a public good. A public good is non excludable and non-rival in consumption. Non excludable: characteristic of a public good: if the good is available to one actor to consume, then other actors cannot be prevented from consuming it as well. Non rival in consumption: characteristic of a public good: one actor"s consumption of the good does not diminish the quantity available for others to consume as well. Global climate change: human-induced change in the environment, especially from the emissions of greenhouse gases, leading to higher temperatures around the globe. Public goods are produced by social practice and law.
