Final answer:
Private companies are unlikely to provide public goods because they cannot charge people for their use. Public goods are nonexcludable and nonrivalrous, meaning that excluding people from using them is costly or impossible and one person's use does not diminish availability for others.
Step-by-step explanation:
Private companies are unlikely to provide public goods because public goods are nonexcludable and nonrivalrous. Nonexcludable means that it is impossible or very costly to exclude people from using the good or service. Nonrivalrous means that one person's use of the good or service does not reduce its availability to others. Because private companies cannot charge individuals for using public goods, there is no incentive for them to produce and provide these goods.