Answer:
Individuals impose costs or benefits on others but have no incentive to take these costs and benefits into account.
Explanation:
An externality is considered as an incentive/benefit or cost that is received or incurred by a third party. Nevertheless, they may not have control over the product or services that led to benefits or costs.
It is important to understand that Externality can be positive or negative, however, most externalities are known to be negative. Positive externalities exist only when there are benefits on both the social level and the private level. For instance, Google-map product benefits the company through profits while it helps individuals as a GPS tool.
As mentioned earlier, negative externalities are more prevalent than positive externalities, it occurs when there is a gain or benefit on the private level but a disadvantage on a social level. A typical example is pollution. While companies benefit from the products manufactured from raw materials, the waste. if disposed of inappropriately, it may pose a great threat to the environment.
Therefore, an externality is said to exist when Individuals impose costs or benefits on others but have no incentive to take these costs and benefits into account.
