How does the concept of market failure relate to public goods?

How does the concept of market failure relate to public goods?

The concept of market failure relates to public goods because public goods are often provided by the government or other public entities due to the inability of the market to efficiently allocate and provide these goods. Market failure occurs when the market mechanism fails to allocate resources efficiently, resulting in an under-provision or non-provision of public goods. This is because public goods have two key characteristics: non-excludability, meaning that it is difficult to exclude individuals from consuming the good once it is provided, and non-rivalry, meaning that one person's consumption of the good does not diminish its availability to others. These characteristics create a free-rider problem, where individuals have an incentive to not pay for the good but still benefit from its provision. As a result, the market is unable to generate enough revenue to provide public goods efficiently, leading to the need for government intervention to ensure their provision.