Free riding problem in public goods

Like the individuals have some personal needs, the society made up of the individuals has also some needs because of the obligation of living together. The matter of how the societal needs be met has been the main concern of the individuals who form the society, and this concern has led them to look for an answer. Basically, what the public goods and services are and how they are to be presented which can be defined as the services to meet the needs of the common society has led to various views to appear among the politicians and the economists.The approach to the public goods and services totally related to the adopted state system is formed according to the viewpoint of the state. Public goods and services have the characteristics of "non-pricibility" and "non-excludability" and so they are not produced by the private sector acting with the motivation of getting profit; instead, this type of goods and services are necessarily produced by public sector.Because of the characteristic of public goods stated above the individuals can benefit from this type of goods without being involved in the financing of public goods. In this situation "free riding problem" appears. Knowing the demands of public goods of the individuals has led to some mechanisms for the individuals' demand revealing providing public goods be included in financing. As a result of studies made, it has been observed that the rate of the individuals' being voluntarily involved in the financing of public goods has increased by means of demand revealing mechanisms.Key Words: Public Goods, Public Services, Free Riding Problem, Demand Revealing Mechanisms.