PRIVATE GOOD: A good that's easy to keep nonpayers from consuming (called excludability), and use of the good by one person prevents use by others (termed rival consumption). Examples include almost anything that you can buy at a grocery store or shopping mall. The reason for this is that private goods are privately owned and can be sold to others for a price. For efficiency, its best for these goods to be traded through markets without any direct government involvement (unless they have a market failure). See common-property good, near-public good, public good. See also | good types | excludability | rival consumption | efficiency | market | exchange | market failure | common-property good | near-public good | public good |