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A 'merit good' in economics is a commodity which is judged that an individual or society should have on the basis of a norm other than respecting consumer preferences. One rationale for this is paternalism, that the government or other donor provides such a good on the basis of "merit," because it can better provide for individual welfare than allowing consumer sovereignty (Musgrave, 1987). Alternatively, there may be more acceptance for income redistribution in the form of goods, rather than, say, purchasing power (Musgrave and Musgrave, 1973, p. 81). Examples include food stamps, health care, and subsidized housing.
Other possible rationales for treating some commodities as merit (or demerit) goods include public-goods aspects of a commodity, imposing community standards (prostitution, drugs, etc.), immaturity or incapacity, and addiction. What is common to all of these is recommending for or against some goods on a basis other than consumer choice (Musgrave, 1987, p. 452).
In the case of education, it can be argued that those lacking education are incapable of making an informed choice about the benefits of education, which would warrant compulsion (Musgrave, 1959, 14). In this case, the ''implementation'' of consumer sovereignty is the motivation, rather than rejection of consumer sovereignty (Musgrave, 1987, p. 452).
The concept of merit goods was introduced by Richard Musgrave (1957, 1959).

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References

References

★ Richard A. Musgrave (1957). "A Multiple Theory of Budget Determination," ''FinanzArchiv'', New Series 25(1), pp. 33-43.

★ _____ (1959). ''The Theory of Public Finance'', pp. 13-15.

★ _____ (1987). "merit goods," ," '', v. 3, pp. 452-53.

★ Richard A. Musgrave and Peggy B. Musgrave (1973). ''Public Finance in Theory and Practice'', pp. 80-81.

★ Amartya K. Sen ([1977] 1982). "Rational Fools: A Critique of the Behavioral Foundations of Economic Theory," in ''Choice, Welfare and Measurement'', pp. 84-106. (1977 JSTOR version)