The economic concept of a merit good (or worthy good), originated by Richard Musgrave (1957, 1959), is a commodity or service that it is judged an individual or society should have on the basis of some concept of benefit, rather than ability and willingness to pay. The term is, perhaps, less often used in the 2020s than it was during the 1960s to 1980s, but the concept still motivates many economic actions by governments.
The economic concept of a merit good (or worthy good), originated by Richard Musgrave (1957, 1959), is a commodity or service that it is judged an individual or society should have on the basis of some concept of benefit, rather than ability and willingness to pay. The term is, perhaps, less often used in the 2020s than it was during the 1960s to 1980s, but the concept still motivates many economic actions by governments.
Source: Wikipedia "Merit good" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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