In a globalizing world, problems and solutions reach across national borders, resulting in a growing need for international collective action. During recent years, the concept of Global Public Goods (GPGs) has become an increasingly important part of international policy making. The concept appears in the agendas of UN agencies, the IMF/ World Bank, and Non-governmental organizations. Everyone depends on public goods, neither markets nor the wealthiest person can do without them. Clean environment, health, knowledge, property rights, peace and security are all examples of public goods that could be made global. The concept remains criticized for being too academic and abstract but it has also brought about enthusiasm and strong advocacy. Questions remain unanswered regarding financial aspects and how to provide global public goods. Some fear that money will be taken from international aid while others suggest global taxes as means for distribution. This section of the site seeks to outline the latest policy ideas in regards to Global Public Goods and sustainable development policies.
In traditional usage, a global public good is a good that has the three following properties:[1]
It is non-rivalrous. Consumption of this good by anyone does not reduce the quantity available to other agents.
It is non-excludable. It is impossible to prevent anyone from consuming that good.
It is available more-or-less worldwide.
This concept is an extension of American economist Paul Samuelson's classic notion of public goods[2] to the economics of globalization.
The traditional theoretical concept of public goods does not distinguish with regard to the geographical region in which a good may be produced or consumed. However, the term "global public good" has been used to mean a public good which is non-rivalrous and non-excludable throughout the whole world, as opposed to a public good which exists in just one national area. Knowledge has been used as a classic example of a global public good.[3] In some academic literature, it has become associated with the concept of a common heritage of mankind.[4]