Public–private partnershipA public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions. Typically, it involves private capital financing government projects and services up-front, and then drawing revenues from taxpayers and/or users over the course of the PPP contract. Public–private partnerships have been implemented in multiple countries and are primarily used for infrastructure projects. They have been employed for building, equipping, operating and maintaining schools, hospitals, transport systems, and water and sewerage systems.
Merit goodThe economics concept of a merit good, originated by Richard Musgrave (1957, 1959), is a commodity which is judged that an individual or society should have on the basis of some concept of benefit, rather than ability and willingness to pay. The term is, perhaps, less often used presently than it was during the 1960s to 1980s but the concept still motivates many economic actions by governments. Examples include in-kind transfers such as the provision of food stamps to assist nutrition, the delivery of health services to improve quality of life and reduce morbidity, and subsidized housing and education.
CommonsThe commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons can also be understood as natural resources that groups of people (communities, user groups) manage for individual and collective benefit. Characteristically, this involves a variety of informal norms and values (social practice) employed for a governance mechanism.
Public economicsPublic economics (or economics of the public sector) is the study of government policy through the lens of economic efficiency and equity. Public economics builds on the theory of welfare economics and is ultimately used as a tool to improve social welfare. Welfare can be defined in terms of well-being, prosperity, and overall state of being. Public economics provides a framework for thinking about whether or not the government should participate in economic markets and if so to what extent it should do so.
