Non Rivalrous Goods Examples

What is a Non-Rivalrous Good?

Goods and services are categorized into rivalrous goods (competitive) and nonrivalrous goods (non-competitive.) One person can consume non-rivalrous goods without reducing the number of goods available for others to consume.

Rivalrous goods, like cars, televisions, and refrigerators, can be sold to multiple people. For instance, you cannot sell the same car to two different people.

However, there is a distinction between what economists call “perfect” or “pure” rivalry versus imperfect or partial rivalry. Imperfect rivalry means that it might be possible but difficult to re-sell your product because of buyer recognition problems. In contrast, for pure rivalry, the good is so differentiated from others.

 

The concept of non-rivalrous goods has a long history in economics. It has become particularly relevant due to the advent of digital products such as software and music downloads.

Non Rivalrous Goods Examples

Examples of non-rivalrous goods include air, knowledge, water, and public parks. Other examples of non-rivalrous goods are food items such as apples or oranges, which many people can eat at once

To explain with an example of non-rival good like a television program.  A television program is a non-rival good. When a show is shown on TV, and a group of people watches it from their homes, other groups of people watching the show get to watch exactly the same show, no matter how many of them actually watch it together.

The air could be another example. Whatever sector of society, every individual can literally breathe the same air from anywhere in the world. One person’s breathing does not – at least not significantly – affect the amount of air left to others.

One person can consume non-rivalrous goods without diminishing the amount available for others to consume.

• Check Related: Giffen Good Example

Rivalrous and Non Rivalrous Goods

What are the differences and similarities between Rivalrous and Non-Rivalrous Goods?

Non Rivalrous Goods are those consumer goods that do not compete for sales with other brands. There is little need to invest in advertising because there is no competition.

On the other hand, Rivalrous goods require both marketing and advertising investments – since they may be up against competitors who have similar products at a comparable price point.

A wise person once said, “competition keeps you on your toes.” This couldn’t be more true than within the realm of commerce, where rivalrous and non-rivalrous goods are often found competing for consumers’ attention and buying power.

The biggest difference is that Rivalrous goods can be bought or sold, whereas non-rivalrous goods cannot. For example, when you buy a coffee at Starbucks for $3.00, it means you have exchanged your 3 dollars for the right to use the other person’s coffee machine. You now have access to their coffee grounds; they no longer do; which doesn’t mean they’re not still in possession of them – it just means that since this type of good is rivalrous (you can’t share what you own), only one person may use them at a time. Whereas with non-rivalrous goods, like musical instruments or DVDs

Non Rivalrous and Non Excludable Goods

Nonrivalry and non excludability are two important characteristics of a good or service. They both contribute to the nonmarket nature of public goods.

Non-rivalry means that one person’s consumption does not diminish another’s use, while non-excludability signifies that no one can be barred from using it.

To compares non-excludable goods and non-rivalry goods, there are many similarities and a few differences between these two types of goods. First off, both types of commodities can be produced by one person or one company without affecting others’ productivity. This is because they’re not rival products–the more you produce, the lower your marginal cost for producing an additional unit becomes.

The big difference between them is in how people perceive their use.

Non-excludable goods have no individual limits on who can consume them (think public parks). In contrast, non-rivalry good consumption has an individual limit (one car per family) since we don’t need to worry about them.