The Economic Way of Thinking 13th Edition by David Prychitko, Peter Boettke, Paul Heyne

Exercise 4

A frequent argument in support of government-produced goods is that they are vital to social welfare, and therefore their provision cannot safely be left to the "whims" of the marketplace. Does this explain why parks and libraries are usually municipal services, whereas food and medical care are usually secured through the market? Can you suggest a better explanation to account for these cases?