Unit 2: Microeconomics
Topic 2.9: Market Failure — Public Goods Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB Economics Topic 2.9. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1Define4 marks
Define the two characteristics of a public good and give an example.
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Which of the following is the best example of a pure public good?
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Which of the following is an example of a quasi-public good?
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Explain the free-rider problem and why it leads to market failure in the provision of public goods.
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Explain the difference between a pure public good and a quasi-public good, using one example of each.
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Explain why some goods are described as quasi-public and give two examples.
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Public goods lead to market failure because:
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Governments can convert a quasi-public good into a more excludable one by:
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The free-rider problem associated with public goods means that:
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The government provides public goods primarily because:
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Explain why private firms are unlikely to provide public goods efficiently.
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Explain two methods by which the government can provide public goods.
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Unlock Question15Distinguish4 marks
Distinguish between public goods and private goods using the concepts of rivalry and excludability.
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2026
Discuss whether public goods must always be supplied directly by the government.
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Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of government provision of public goods.
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2026
Distinguish, using street lighting and vaccination as your examples, between a public good and a merit good.
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2026
Using real-world examples, discuss whether a government that pays for a public good must also produce it itself.
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2026
Distinguish between a public good and a merit good.
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