Answer
a) French Fries should be provided by the market system, as they are rivalrous in consumption and excludable.
b) airport screenings should be provided by the government as they are public goods, non-excludable and non-rivalrous.
c) Court systems are public goods, as it is non-excludable. (it is not legally sound to exclude any person from being able to use the court system) and non-rivalrous (one person's use of the court system does not diminish the next person's ability to consume it)
d) Mail delivery should be provided by the market system, as it is excludable and rivalrous.
e) Medical care should be provided by the market system, as it is excludable and rivalrous.
Work Step by Step
a) There is an incentive for producers to produce the good, as consumers would express the benefit they receive for the consumption of each additional unit of the good due to rivalry, and producers would therefore have an incentive to produce as it would produce revenue for them due to excluability.
b) Consumers would not indicate the benefit they receive for the consumption of an additional unit of the good, and thus demand would not be reflected, as the ability of one to consume the good would not diminish another's ability to (non-rivalry). Non-excludability, where it is extremely difficult to exclude one person from consuming airport screenings, also causes the free rider problem, as consumers know that it is possible for them to consume the good for free, and thus they would not express the benefit that consuming an additional unit of good would bring them (thus not reflect marginal benefit). This would translate to there not being a demand curve reflected, as MB=Demand. Thus, such goods would not be provided in the free market, as there lacks a demand curve to indicate consumer preference.
c) Refer to question 4 for an in depth explanation for why public goods are an example of market failure and should not be provided by the free market, as it would not be provided by producers.
d) It is excludable as it is possible to exclude and deny one person's ability to use it. It is rivalrous as there are limited manpower and resources that companies providing mail has, and thus one person's use of it would diminish the next person's ability to use it). Companies like UBS and DHL are examples of mail delivery being produced through the market system.
e) It is excludable as it is possible to deny some people medical treatment. It is rivalrous as limited hospital beds or medication causes rivalry in consumption.
