See: Public Good.
Throw your ideas of privacy out your window. But not your clothes. You can keep those on.
Private goods are goods that are bought and consumed, and when they’re consumed, it prevents someone else from consuming it. When you buy popcorn and Sour Patch Kids at the movies, these are private goods. You’re buying them, and you consume them, which prevents others from consuming them. Sharing with your friend still makes it a private good, since the good is “excludable.”
What’s a good that’s non-excludable? A fireworks show. Some people pay to see the fireworks show, and get let into the little gated area with the best seating. Yet others can stand in the right places outside of the paid, gated area, and still “consume” the good, for free. Yep, free riders. Where there are free riders there are non-excludable goods.
Those who did pay aren’t having a lesser fireworks show because of the free riders. That means it’s also non-rivalrous, since many people can enjoy a fireworks show.
Some rando at the movies couldn’t consume your popcorn without directly taking it from you though, unlike the fireworks show. Popcorn is a rivalrous good; only one person can have each piece of popcorn.
When there are limits to who can consume something, it’s rivalrous. When others are excluded from consumption because you bought it, it’s excludable. Excludable and rivalrous = private good. Clothes, parking spaces, and food are all private goods: you have to buy them, and only so many people get use out of them at a time.
Private goods contrast with public goods, which are non-excludable (free), and non-rivalrous (consuming by one doesn’t lessen consumption by another). Like public parks.
Related or Semi-related Video
![Econ: What are Superior v. Inferior Goods?](https://media1.shmoop.com/video/thumbnails/ECON.FINANCE.106_770x433.jpg)
Econ: What are Superior v. Inferior Good...4 Views
And finance Allah shmoop What are superior and inferior goods
All right Well in casual conversation you might say that
Reese is is a superior candy bar Teo the Baby
Ruth Or that broccoli is an inferior vegetable Teo pretty
much every other one in economic superior and inferior goods
aren't union yang Superior goods also known as luxury goods
are actually a subtype of normal goods Well normal goods
or goods whose demand goes up when incomes go up
Yeah like normal normal goods in L A include air
conditioners and kombucha and designer clothes Normal goods in New
York City include flannel button ups noise cancelling headphones and
of course pizza The more money people make the more
they'LL be spending on these goods if they're getting technical
while normal goods have a positive income Elasticity of demand
elasticity measures how sensitive we are two goods when they
change in price or when our buying power changes The
more elastic something is the more sensitive we are to
it The more any elastic something is the less sensitive
we are to it Well normal goods have a positive
elasticity of demand meaning will want more normal goods as
our buying power rises Superior goods or luxury goods are
a type of normal Good superior goods like normal goods
have an incoming elasticity of demand that's greater than zero
So what makes a superior good a superior good Well
a superior good has an income elasticity of demand That's
not on ly greater than zero It's greater than one
Superior goods are just extreme versions of normal goods The
increase in demand for superior goods is greater than for
normal goods given a certain percent increase in income When
people are rolling in dough they have more money to
play with making their demand more any elastic They have
so much money that the basics are covered so they
can spend a higher proportion of their income on luxurious
things Superior goods are things like fancy TVs fancy cars
fancy clothes basically anything fancy Okay so we have the
normal goods Remember which have a positive income elasticity of
demand and superior goods also known as luxury goods which
are extreme normal goods with an incoming last the city
over one We also have inferior goods which is the
gin in the yang of normal goods while normal goods
have a positive income Elasticity of demand in cheerier goods
have a negative income Elasticity of demand will What is
all this means means inferior goods are things people want
less of as their income arises as people's buying power
increases well they'LL usually start substituting inferior goods for normal
ones As you start making more money while you'LL probably
swap your inferior McDonald's coffee for Starbucks a normal good
you might switch from riding the boss to driving a
car Another substitution of an inferior good for a normal
good The more money you make the last you'LL demand
inferior goods As you climb the corporate ladder you'LL forget
inferior goods all together like they were never a part
of your life But don't worry There's a horseshoe theory
for inferior and superior goods For instance if you find
yourself in your corner office overlooking the city missing the
good old days when you had duct tape shoes and
inferior good very inferior Good There's a superior good for
that right Like you Khun by this superstar taped sneaker
a superior good at five hundred thirty dollars and then
reminisce about well the old inferior good days Yeah there's
a luxury market for everything nowadays Yeah you've seen it
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