Question

answer the question after reading the short article.

Question: Do you think that are the bouquets given away for free a public good?

Free Flowers Are Being Given Away in Downtown Crossing The Society of American Florists wants to 'petal it forward' on Wednesday. by MADELINE BILIS· 10/18/2016, 10:18 a.m. Photo by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism on Flickr/Creative Commons Stroll down the pedestrian. walkway in Downtown Crossing on Wednesday and there’s good chance you’ll be surprised with two bouquets of flowers—for free. The floral department team at Roche Bros. is giving away 1,700 bouquets to Bostonians at random. Why two free bouquets for one person? Each lucky recipient is supposed to “petal it forward,” giving the second bundle of flowers to anyone they choose—whether that’s a pal in the office or a stranger on the street. The sweet-smelling giveaway is part of the “Petal It Forward” campaign, supported by the Society of American Florists and florists across the country. In addition to those in Boston, florists in 206 cities in 49 states hope to make a few people smile with “flower power.” The campaign is meant to highlight the emotional benefits of flowers, and to back up studies that show flowers’ immediate impact on happiness as well as their long-term positive effects on moods. The Roche Bros. florists will begin to bestow their bouquets at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 19. An early lunch, anyone?

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My answer : I guess, since (public good) they are characterized by non-rivalness( many people can enjoy the good simultaneously ) and non-excludable( if made available one, it will be automatically available to others) .based on the public good's definition, the bouquets can be considered as a public good. because, its non-rival once you received flower and give it away someone else, and if it occurs over and over again. at the end, many people can enjoy it. also, its non-excludable since everyone could get the flower. but the thing is, the number of flowers provided is limited which makes me doubt that if i can see it as a public good. also over time, the flowers will shriveled up which will reduce other's satisfaction. and it violates condition to be a public good. anyone can check my answer and correct it ?

answer the question after reading the short article.

Question: Do you think that are the bouquets given away for free a public good?

Free Flowers Are Being Given Away in Downtown Crossing The Society of American Florists wants to 'petal it forward' on Wednesday. by MADELINE BILIS· 10/18/2016, 10:18 a.m. Photo by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism on Flickr/Creative Commons Stroll down the pedestrian. walkway in Downtown Crossing on Wednesday and there’s good chance you’ll be surprised with two bouquets of flowers—for free. The floral department team at Roche Bros. is giving away 1,700 bouquets to Bostonians at random. Why two free bouquets for one person? Each lucky recipient is supposed to “petal it forward,” giving the second bundle of flowers to anyone they choose—whether that’s a pal in the office or a stranger on the street. The sweet-smelling giveaway is part of the “Petal It Forward” campaign, supported by the Society of American Florists and florists across the country. In addition to those in Boston, florists in 206 cities in 49 states hope to make a few people smile with “flower power.” The campaign is meant to highlight the emotional benefits of flowers, and to back up studies that show flowers’ immediate impact on happiness as well as their long-term positive effects on moods. The Roche Bros. florists will begin to bestow their bouquets at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 19. An early lunch, anyone?

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My answer : I guess, since (public good) they are characterized by non-rivalness( many people can enjoy the good simultaneously ) and non-excludable( if made available one, it will be automatically available to others) .based on the public good's definition, the bouquets can be considered as a public good. because, its non-rival once you received flower and give it away someone else, and if it occurs over and over again. at the end, many people can enjoy it. also, its non-excludable since everyone could get the flower. but the thing is, the number of flowers provided is limited which makes me doubt that if i can see it as a public good. also over time, the flowers will shriveled up which will reduce other's satisfaction. and it violates condition to be a public good. anyone can check my answer and correct it ?

Answer 1

A public good is a good over which people have a free access.
These goods are characterised by three main important features:

Non Rivalry:
People do not compete for the goods and can enjoy the good simultaneously.

Non Excludability:
Which means nobody can be kept from reaping its benefits or cannot be stopped from accessing it by any means. It is available to all without excluding anyone.

The consumption of a public good by any individual does not reduce its amount of access for the other nor the availability decreases thus do not exude the remaining from consuming it.

Now looking at the case mentioned above , the bouquets are provided for the motive of social welfare to people whoever passes by the street without any distinction.
So it could be referred to a public good in the sense that it is freely available
to all whoever passes by thus non rivalry.
The second most thing mentioned above is that each individual is given two bouquets , one to keep and other to pass forward, which means there is no such demarcation on its access and no prohibition of access of any kind. i.e it is non excludable.

The another most important condition of a good to be a public good is that it's use by one individual does not reduce its acess for the other but as in the case it is clesrly mentioned " The floral department team at Roche Bros. is giving away 1,700 bouquets to Bostonians at random. way" which provides that the number of goods is limited , which violates the rule for it to be s public good

Moreover the bouquets cannot be called as a public good because by the very nature of a public good , the satisfaction level for one individual after consuming it remains exactly same for the other individual , as not the case with flowers because they are perishable and within time their performance like providing fragrance or looking fresh and beautiful diminishes after a certain point , thus cannot be termed as a public good.

The case with the bouquets is that if one person gets more of them , there will be less left for the other person and they ultimately will end. Thus they cannot be a public good

PS:

Dear student , your own attempt to answer the question was absolutely correct, i have just added more to it and represented it in a quite furnished manner for deep understanding and i have also provided the conclusion to the answer. Hope i explained well

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