 The shopping centre example illustrates a potential problem for the private provision of a public good. Suppose that it is prohibitively expensive to charge individuals for the use of parking spaces provided. Parking space is then a public good because non-shoppers can use it free of charge. Suppose further that the owner of land nearby exploits the situation by building a competing shopping centre that does not offer parking space. The new shopping centre can price its competitor out of the market by offering lower prices for the merchandise it sells because it does not have to pay for parking space.