Local businesses are most likely to sponsor alcohol awareness programs when:

• A. the government mandates all businesses to contribute
• B. there is no free rider problem associated with the program
• C. the program is classified as a private good
• D. the benefits to the community exceed the costs to the business

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the nature of public goods and externalities. Alcohol awareness programs typically have characteristics of a public good, meaning they are non-excludable and non-rivalrous, which often leads to free rider problems.
2. Step 2: Recognize the free rider problem, where individuals or businesses benefit from a good without contributing to its cost, reducing the incentive for local businesses to sponsor such programs voluntarily.
3. Step 3: Analyze the conditions under which local businesses would voluntarily sponsor the program. This usually happens when the private benefits (to the business or community) outweigh the costs incurred by the business.
4. Step 4: Note that if the program is mandated by the government, businesses must contribute regardless of their individual cost-benefit analysis, which is different from voluntary sponsorship.
5. Step 5: Conclude that local businesses are most likely to sponsor alcohol awareness programs when the benefits to the community (including indirect benefits to the business) exceed the costs to the business, providing a direct incentive to contribute.