government intervention is always a choice between imperfect alternatives We will examine the nature of public sector choices later in this chapter and explore an economic explanation of why government intervention may fail to move market solutions closer to their efficient levels Merit and Demerit Goods In some cases, the public sector makes a determination that people should consume more of some goods and services and less of others, even in the absence of market failure This is a normative judgment, one that presumes that consumers are not always the best judges of what is good, or bad, for them Merit goods are goods whose consumption the public sector promotes, based on a presumption that many individuals not adequately weigh the benefits of the good and should thus be induced to consume more than they otherwise would Many local governments support symphony concerts, for example, on grounds that the private market would not provide an adequate level of these cultural activities Indeed, government provision of some merit goods is difficult to explain Why, for example, many local governments provide tennis courts but not bowling alleys, golf courses but not auto racetracks, or symphony halls but not movie theaters? One possible explanation is that some consumers—those with a fondness for tennis, golf, and classical music— have been more successful than others in persuading their fellow citizens to assist in funding their preferred activities Attributed to Libby Rittenberg and Timothy Tregarthen Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books/ Saylor.org 796