Understanding the Difference between Private and Public Goods

Task 1: Assessment Criteria for Demonstrating Understanding of Private and Public Goods

This assessment focused on the difference between private goods, which can be efficiently provided by markets, and public goods, which markets fail to supply in an equitable way to the public. Merit and demerit goods will also be considered in order to analyse their positive or negative impacts on society, and why government intervention may be required to control access to these goods.

Task 1:

1. Using economics theories from Krugman & Wells textbook, and current UK examples from the past three years (2018-2021), explain why the UK economy requires both public and private goods, giving examples of when the UK market fails to provide access to necessary private goods, why and how the UK government must provide public goods.
2. Analyse examples of when the UK government has difficulty in providing sufficient access to public goods. Explain whether you think UK social welfare programmes do or do not result in fair access to public goods. Use relevant examples of UK public and private goods, providing real-life examples and references from the UK market and UK news in 2020 to support your explanations.

Task 2:

1. Using economics theories from Krugman & Wells textbook, and current UK examples from the past three years (2018-2021), discuss merit and demerit goods in the UK market. Analyse real-life examples of merit and their positive impacts on society, and contrast this with analysis of demerit goods in the UK and their negative impact on society.
2. Analyse how the UK government used policies and funding to improve access to merit goods, and how it discourages and reduces access to demerit goods, providing real examples of UK government interventions and strategies.
3. Explain whether you believe that the UK government interventions does or did not effectively address the fair provision of merit goods. Include relevant examples and references from the UK from the past three years (2018-2021), UK news, and UK government publications to support your explanations.

Task One Assessment Criteria - Students must demonstrate:

• Knowledge and understanding of the language of economics.
• Knowledge and understanding of the basic methodology and models used in economics and their application to real-world situations.

Task Two Assessment Criteria – Students must demonstrate:

• Knowledge and understanding of the basic methodology and models used in economics and their application to real-world situations.
• Intellectual, practical, effective and transferable skills, which is achieved through demonstrating the ability to analyse hypothetical and/or realworld situations that occur in economics.