Socially Desirable Merit Goods: Analysis of Primary Education in the UK

This report represents a brief assessment of various aspects of primary education in the UK as an important merit good. The report starts with assessing the role of the UK government in providing primary education and this is followed by analysis of possibilities for private sector to provide primary education.

Moreover, the report includes discussions of positive externalities of primary education and assesses the possibilities of market failure if the provision of primary education was left to provide to free market.

Socially desirable merit goods are “goods that society deems so valuable that everyone should have them” (Frischmann, 2012, p.45). There are two basic characteristics of merit goods: the value of the good is not usually fully appreciated at the time of consumption, and consumption of merit goods has positive effects to other individuals (Economics Online, 2013).