Rivalry ( economics ) - wikipedia Rivalry ( economics ) In economics, a good is said to be rivalrous or rival if its consumption by one consumer prevents simultaneous consumption by other consumers., or if consumption by one party reduces utility / ability to use to another. A good is considered non-rivalrous or non-rival if, for any level of production, the cost of providing it to a marginal ( additional ) individual is zero. A good can be placed along a continuum ranging from rivalrous to non-rivalrous. The same characteristic is sometimes referred to as subtractable or non-subtractable. Most tangible goods, both durable and nondurable, are rival goods. A hammer is a durable rival good. One person 's use of the hammer presents a significant barrier to others who desire to use that hammer at the same time. However, the first user does not `` use up '' the hammer, meaning that some rival goods can still be shared through time. An apple is a nondurable rival good : once an apple is eaten, it is `` used up '' and can no longer be eaten by others. Non-tangible goods can also be rivalrous. Examples include the ownership of radio spectra and domain names. In more general terms, almost all private goods are rivalrous. In contrast, non-rival goods may be consumed by one consumer without preventing simultaneous consumption by others. Most examples of non-rival goods are intangible. Broadcast television is an example of a non-rival good ; when a consumer turns on a TV set, this does not prevent the TV in another consumer 's house from working. The television itself is a rival good, but television broadcasts are non-rival goods. Other examples of non-rival goods include a beautiful scenic view, national defense, clean air, street lights, and public safety ( police and law courts ). More generally, most intellectual property is non-rival. In fact, certain types of intellectual property become more valuable as more people consume them ( anti-rival ). For example, the more people use a particular language, the more valuable that language becomes. Non-rivalry does not imply that the total production costs are low, but that the marginal production costs are zero. In reality, few goods are completely non-rival as rivalry can emerge at certain levels. For instance, road ( or internet ) use is non-rival up to a certain capacity, after which congestion means that each additional user decreases speed for others. For that, recent economic theory views rivalry as a continuum, not as a binary category, where many goods are somewhere between the two extremes of completely rival and completely non-rival. A perfectly non-rival good can be consumed simultaneously by an unlimited number of consumers. Goods that are both non-rival and non-excludable are called public goods. It is generally accepted by mainstream economists that the market mechanism will under - provide public goods, so these goods have to be produced by other means, including government provision. References Jump up ^ David L. Weimer ; Aidan R. Vining. Policy Analysis : Concepts and Practice. Pearson : Prentice Hall. p. 72. ISBN 0 - 13 - 183001 - 5. Fourth Edition. Jump up ^ Cornes, R., T. Sandler. 1986. The theory of externalities, public goods, and club goods. Cambridge University Press. Jump up ^ Hess, C., E. Ostrom. 2006. Introduction. C. Hess, E. Ostrom, eds. Understanding Knowledge as a Commons : From Theory to Practice. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts Jump up ^ Leach, J. 2004. A course in public economics. Cambridge University Press : 155 -- 56 Types of goods Public goods Private goods ( includes household goods ) Common goods Common - pool resource Club goods Anti-rival goods Global public goods Global commons ( Non - ) Rivalrous goods and ( Non - ) Excludable goods Complementary goods vs. Substitute goods vs. Independent goods Free goods vs. Positional goods ( Non - ) Durable goods Intermediate goods ( producer goods ) Final goods Capital goods Inferior goods Normal goods ( Necessity goods ) Neutral goods Ordinary goods Information goods Giffen goods Luxury goods Veblen goods Superior goods Search goods ( Post - ) Experience goods Credence goods Merit goods Demerit goods Damaged goods Composite goods Intangible goods Property By owner Common Common land Communal land Community Cooperative Private Public State Crown property Crown land By nature Croft Intangible Intellectual indigenous Personal Tangible immovable real Common resources Common - pool resource Digital Global Information Knowledge Theory Bundle of rights Commodity fictitious commodities Common good ( economics ) Excludability First possession appropriation homestead principle Free rider problem Game theory Georgism Gift economy Labor theory of property Law of rent rent - seeking Legal plunder Natural rights Ownership common customary self state Property rights primogeniture usufruct women 's Right to property Rivalry Tragedy of the commons anticommons Applications Acequia ( watercourse ) Ejido ( agrarian land ) Forest types Inheritance Land tenure Property law alienation easement restraint on alienation real estate title Rights Air Fishing Forest - dwelling ( India ) Freedom to roam Grazing pannage Hunting Land aboriginal indigenous squatting Littoral Mineral Bergregal Right of way Water prior - appropriation riparian Disposession / redistribution Bioprospecting Collectivization Eminent domain Enclosure Eviction Expropriation Farhud Forced migration population transfer Illegal fishing Illegal logging Land reform Legal plunder Piracy Poaching Primitive accumulation Privatization Regulatory taking Slavery bride - buying human trafficking wage wife selling Tax inheritance poll progressive property Theft Scholars ( key work ) Frédéric Bastiat Ronald Coase Henry George Garrett Hardin David Harvey John Locke Two Treatises of Government Karl Marx Marcel Mauss The Gift John Stuart Mill Elinor Ostrom Karl Polanyi The Great Transformation Pierre - Joseph Proudhon What Is Property ? David Ricardo Murray N. Rothbard The Ethics of Liberty Jean - Jacques Rousseau The Social Contract Adam Smith The Wealth of Nations Categories : Property Property law by country Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rivalry_(economics)&oldid=798957818 '' Categories : Goods ( economics ) Rivalry Talk About Wikipedia Français Հայերեն Nederlands 日本 語 Português Русский 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 4 September 2017, at 20 : 14. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when is a good or service considered to be rival in nature
Answer: its consumption by one consumer prevents simultaneous consumption by other consumers.[1], or if consumption by one party reduces utility/ability to use to another