Assume there are 1000 homes in a flood zone in an area in which sea levels are rising. An additional 1000 homes are above the flood zone and at less risk. A levee could be built to prevent the rise in sea level from affecting the homes. It is worth $20,000 per home in the flood zone to have the levee built. It is worth $5,000 per home not in the flood zone to have the levee built. The levee costs $22,000,000 to build. Which of these makes the most economic sense? A. The government should leave this to the free market.
B. The free market will have difficulty building the levee because the levee is non-rival and non-excludable. So the government may have to intervene and force homeowners to pay through taxes to fund the levee as the benefits exceed the costs.
C. The free market will have difficulty building the levee because the levee is non-rival and non-excludable. However the benefits do not exceed the costs anyway so there is no need for the government to intervene.
D. The free market will have some difficulty building the levee because the levee is non-rival. However it is excludable. So there is only a partial argument for government intervention here.