Explain why the social demand curve for a public good is the vertical

Explain why the social demand curve for a public good is the vertical sum of the demand curves of each individual.

What will be an ideal response?

ANSWER

A public good lacks rivalry, so many people can get pleasure from the same unit of output. Thus for each unit of public good, the total willingness to pay is the sum of everyone’s willingness to pay because everyone can consume the good.