The Student Room Group

Are public parks public goods?

I’ve been asked to assess the statement public parks are public goods. I agree with this and have done a small paragraph of writing but I don’t believe it to be a sufficient amount.
If you’re doing economics I’d say they are. They’re non excludable so the free rider problem occurs because people who don’t pay for them can still access them. They’re non rivalrous as one person using it doesn’t stop another really
What they're looking for you to say probably is that the answer is yes BUT there is an argument that there is an element of rivalry. In a very large public park like Hyde park, it's unreasonable to think that so many people could occupy it that it changes the experience for anyone else. But there are also very small public parks where it is possible they get full up such that non-rivalry doesn't really exist anymore. In this way public parks are quasi-public goods.

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