public goods

Is Economics a Public Good? How Would We Know?

Mario Rizzo Economics, Public Choice, Sociology of Science ,

by Mario Rizzo

What is the economic justification for using tax money to subsidize the production of economic research? The standard answer is that academic economists produce a public good. In other words they produce knowledge for which they do not charge and for which it is not feasible to exclude non-payers.

Let’s accept this basic paradigm and see where it takes us. Continue reading →