In a message dated 9/9/02 4:45:07 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< Races are public goods?! How do I benefit if some other people run a race with each other? Is this just due to some externality that healthy people produce in general? >> I'd never before considered the issue of public goods in relation to races. While it's possible to exclude people who don't pay the entry fee from starting at the starting gate and finishing through the end gate, it might be difficult to stop them from running most of the race in between. In that sense a race might have some characteristics of a public good. It's also clear from running in such races that many people who have no connection to the race come out to watch, mostly people whose homes the races passes. Such people seem to enjoying watching, cheering on the racers, throwing water on us, and so forth, and nothing we can do can really exclude them from their benefits. Other people, again primarily those who live along the race route, probably resent the presence of the race disrupting their parking, law-mowing, sleeping and so forth, and generally have little ability to exclude themselves from the race's detriments. So it does after all seem likely that a race has elements of being a public good. Sincerely, David Levenstam
