Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of pure public goods?

The characteristic that is NOT associated with pure public goods is that the marginal cost of producing the goods increases with consumption. In the context of public goods, such as national defense or public parks, the consumption by one individual does not diminish the availability of the good for others; hence, they are considered non-rivalrous. This means that one person's usage does not deplete the resource for someone else.

Additionally, the marginal cost of providing a public good to an additional consumer is typically zero because the resources required for public goods are spread over a wide base, especially when they are already being produced and available for consumption. Thus, adding more consumers does not incur additional costs for producing the good.

In contrast, a good with increasing marginal costs would imply that as more consumers use the good, the cost of providing that good rises, which contradicts the nature of public goods. They are designed to be provided without restriction to consumers, further supporting that the marginal cost remains constant or effectively zero with increased consumption.