All of the following are benefits commonly associated with government spending on public goods except:

• A. Provision of national defense
• B. Improvement of public infrastructure
• C. Reduction of free-rider problems
• D. Increased exclusion of non-payers from consumption

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the concept of public goods. Public goods are characterized by being non-excludable and non-rivalrous, meaning that individuals cannot be easily excluded from using them, and one person's use does not reduce availability to others.
2. Step 2: Identify common benefits of government spending on public goods. These typically include provision of national defense, improvement of public infrastructure, and reduction of free-rider problems because government intervention helps provide goods that the market may underprovide.
3. Step 3: Analyze the option 'Increased exclusion of non-payers from consumption.' Since public goods are non-excludable by definition, increasing exclusion contradicts the nature of public goods and is not a benefit of government spending on them.
4. Step 4: Conclude that the correct answer is the option that does not align with the characteristics and benefits of public goods, which is 'Increased exclusion of non-payers from consumption.'
5. Step 5: Remember that government spending aims to provide access to public goods for all, reducing exclusion rather than increasing it.