Question

How are collective goods different from private goods?

Answer 1

Answer:

Collective goods offer broadly distributed benefits, while private goods offer particularized benefits.

Explanation:

A good is everything whose consumption generates utility or benefit to individuals. A public good is then something that members of a community want but cannot achieve by individual means, such as security or justice, roads or schools, clean air or the competitiveness of the economy.  This goods are distributed among society in an equitable way.

The provision of these public or collective goods then requires a coordinated effort among the members of society, which can be achieved by voluntary means (collective action) or coercive (institutions). The search for collective assets as opposed to individual assets, serves to draw a dividing line between public and private spheres.

All individuals living in a community can obtain goods to meet their needs, either by private or public means.

Individuals living in a community obtain through their private means some assets to meet their basic needs. Houses, cars, clothes or food are goods that can be acquired through the market or by negotiating with other people.

These types of goods are called private assets and are characterized by being divisible, that is, they can be produced, divided and consumed by private means. Food, clothing, homes or cars can be purchased in separate units through the sale or negotiation.