Public goods are defined as those goods and services essential for survival and should be available for people without charge. Air is the only truly public good that fits this definition. Global Public Goods is a more recent concept and is still in the developing stage by academics, researchers and policy analysts. Public goods are considered global when they have universal benefits, covering multiple groups of countries and all populations.
GPGs are almost inevitably undersupplied. Because there is no exclusivity, private sector will not provide sufficient amount. Furthermore, countries typically cannot agree on which GPGs should be provided, or on how to share the burden of financing them. Even those GPGs whose inclusion on the list is widely accepted often fall prey to incentive and funding difficulties. For example, scientific and technological research, key to addressing many other global issues, is itself a global public good in many cases, yet is widely underfunded. At the same time there is overproduction of global public “bads,” such as communicable diseases, transnational drug smuggling, climate change, and human rights abuses. This seminar will discuss the concepts underlying GPGs and the controversies surrounding them, as well as the global programs currently addressing their provision .