Which characteristic describes a club good?

• A. Non-excludable and non-rival
• B. Excludable and rival
• C. Excludable and non-rival
• D. Non-excludable and rival

Answer: (C)

Club goods are things you can restrict access to by charging a fee or requiring membership, so they are excludable. At the same time, one person’s use doesn’t significantly prevent others from using or enjoying the good, at least up to the point of congestion, so they are non-rival in consumption. That combination—excludable but non-rival—fits club goods best. The other patterns describe different types of goods: a non-excludable and non-rival good would be a public good, excludable and rival describes a private good, and non-excludable and rival describes a common-pool resource.