A key distinction between public goods and merit goods is that
public goods are non-excludable and non-rivalrous in consumption, whereas merit goods are excludable and rivalrous.
merit goods are provided exclusively by the private sector, whereas public goods are provided exclusively by the state.
public goods always generate negative externalities, whereas merit goods always generate positive externalities.
merit goods suffer from the free-rider problem, whereas public goods do not.
378 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Economics 1.8 The market mechanism, market failure and government intervention in markets, covering 1.8.1 How markets and prices allocate resources, 1.8.2 The meaning of market failure, 1.8.3 Public goods, private goods and quasi-public goods, 1.8.4 Positive and negative externalities in consumption and production, 1.8.5 Merit and demerit goods, 1.8.6 Market imperfections, 1.8.7 Competition policy (A-level only), 1.8.8 Public ownership, privatisation, regulation and deregulation of markets (A-level only), 1.8.9 Government intervention in markets, and 1.8.10 Government failure. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.