Theory of Club Goods

Club goods are the type of goods in economics that are excludable but non-rivalrous, at least till they reach a point where congestion occurs. These goods are often provided by a natural monopoly. Club goods have artificial scarcity. Club theory is the area of economics that studies these goods.

We distinguish among private goods, club goods, and local public goods, as per the optimal size of the sharing group relative to the size of the community. A private good is one in which the optimal sharing group is the smallest possible. A club good is one in which the optimal size of its sharing group is finite but still small relative to the community size. The optimal sharing group of a local public good is the community itself.

The classification is revealed to be endogeneously determined rather than being inbuilt into the facility itself.

Club theory occupies a very important place in recent economic literature. The basic theorems of club theory using a different, somewhat more rigorous approach than that used in the literature are proved here. The proof of the optimality of market provision of club goods is a variant of the model of market provision of goods with variable quality.

The distinction made between club and local public goods applies to the analysis of transportation. For example, neighbourhood roads can be dealt with within the context of the club model.

Thus, it follows from that in the optimal allocation, the toll can be expected to cover up the cost of the infrastructure.

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