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If an object or service is sold for a positive price, then it is most likely a good since the purchaser considers the utility of the object or service more valuable than the money. Some objects are very rarely traded, such as Air : it can be difficult to determine if such an object is a good or not. In Macroeconomics and Accounting , a good is contrasted with a Service . A good here is defined as a physical Product capable of being delivered to a purchaser and involves the transfer of Ownership from Seller to Customer , as opposed to an intangible service. In Microeconomics this distinction is rarely made. Utility characteristics of goods A good is held to increase the Utility of a consumer, and hence a Rational consumer would consume as much of it as was available. Goods are usually modelled as having Decreasing Marginal Utility . The first car an individual has is very valuable; the fourth is much less useful. A good contrasts with a bad that decreases utility. For instance, pollution adversely affects quality of life, and indivuals would be willing to pay to remove pollution from their lives. Some goods exhibit returns that diminish below zero, so what initially is a good becomes a bad if too much of it is consumed. For example, slices of pizza can have positive utility for the first five slices consumed at one sitting, but the next slice can have zero utility, and any more slices consumed would have negative utility. Sometimes Economists make the assumption that a good has non-satiation. In this case, it is assumed that there is always positive utility for the good, no matter the quantity. If the good is available for free, then the consumption level will be such that the last consumed unit has zero utility for the consumer. Labour as a good Leisure is a good, but Work is a bad from the standpoint of the worker, though the Money that is paid for work is a good. Types of goods Goods can be defined in a variety of ways, depending on a number a characteristics, these are listed in the table below; See also References
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