STREET LIGHTING

Street lighting is the archetypal public good. Yes, it lights up the area around the nearest house(s); yet it also lights up the road where cars pass, and the pavement where pedestrians go. If street lighting were to be privatised, then all those motorists and dog-walkers would get a free ride (an economic "bad thing").

Yet that is precisely what the Danish Government is planning to do. True, the proposals are hedged around with caveats; it wouldn't be all street lights, for instance, just those in private areas (eg a defined housing estate). Yet this could be the thin end of a very large wedge.

The Danish state is unusual in that, in contrast to most other rich countries, public goods are still free. Healthcare, for instance, or motorways or university education. This is great for Danes, but is also increasingly unaffordable. I suspect that the proposals on street lighting are a kite-flying prequel to more fundamental suggestions for user charges.

Walter Blotscher