It is no secret that getting accepted into Public Choice is a difficult feat. It is a highly recommended course that hundreds of people apply to take, but only about 25 to 30 students actually make the cut. I and everyone else in this class are lucky to be here — something I try to remind myself of when my alarm rings every Tuesday and Thursday morning to remind me that I have to trek all the way to Ruffner and make it to class by 9:30 *sharp* (as Professor Coppock would say).
Many people I know, specifically those studying economics here at UVA, also know how lucky I am, and often express to me how they tried to get into ECON 3330 but were not accepted. To try to make them feel better, I tell them about the material that's being covered in class — from concepts we've been discussing in lecture to specific readings that Professor Coppock assigns to us — so they aren't completely missing out on the class. Because of my being enrolled in ECON 3330 which allows me to spread the joy that is Public Choice course material, a positive consumption externality is created. By my taking the class, I am personally benefitting by learning about a topic that interests me, therefore this constitutes as the private marginal benefit (PMB) of my being in this course. However, because I then share what I have learned with others who are not in the class, the people I'm sharing this information with are receiving an external benefit from my consumption of taking the course because they are gaining knowledge that they want without having to pay for it in ways that I do, such as waking up early to go to Ruffner or pretending to laugh at Professor Coppock's jokes (I'm kidding!). This external benefit of the education that I am consuming through taking Public Choice is added to the PMB, and the sum of the two then equal the social marginal benefit (SMB) of my taking ECON 3330, making SMB > PMB and thus constituting a positive consumption externality (note: when clicking the link, look specifically at the first bullet about education).
Many people I know, specifically those studying economics here at UVA, also know how lucky I am, and often express to me how they tried to get into ECON 3330 but were not accepted. To try to make them feel better, I tell them about the material that's being covered in class — from concepts we've been discussing in lecture to specific readings that Professor Coppock assigns to us — so they aren't completely missing out on the class. Because of my being enrolled in ECON 3330 which allows me to spread the joy that is Public Choice course material, a positive consumption externality is created. By my taking the class, I am personally benefitting by learning about a topic that interests me, therefore this constitutes as the private marginal benefit (PMB) of my being in this course. However, because I then share what I have learned with others who are not in the class, the people I'm sharing this information with are receiving an external benefit from my consumption of taking the course because they are gaining knowledge that they want without having to pay for it in ways that I do, such as waking up early to go to Ruffner or pretending to laugh at Professor Coppock's jokes (I'm kidding!). This external benefit of the education that I am consuming through taking Public Choice is added to the PMB, and the sum of the two then equal the social marginal benefit (SMB) of my taking ECON 3330, making SMB > PMB and thus constituting a positive consumption externality (note: when clicking the link, look specifically at the first bullet about education).
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