Figure 1. Sorting out priorities: How freedom of choice adds value to public goods (IMAGE)

Tokyo Institute of Technology

Figure 1. Sorting out priorities: How freedom of choice adds value to public goods

Caption

Without a possibility to prioritize their contributions (left), say, between a local park, a library, or an environmental initiative, people are less likely to participate in public-goods provision. Low participation rates, in turn, threaten the feasibility of public goods; the park may get overgrown with weeds, library construction may get canceled, and the environment may get polluted. Ultimately, there is less benefit from public goods relative to the situation when prioritizing is possible (right).

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