ECONOMICS Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Mechanical Equilibrium, Utility, Market Clearing

Under a binding price ceiling, what does the change in consumer surplus represent?
A) The gain in surplus for those buyers who can still purchase the product at the lower price.
B) The loss in surplus for those buyers who previously purchased some units of the good at the higher price, but these units are no longer produced at the lower price.
C) The loss in surplus for those buyers who would like the purchase the excess demand created by the price ceiling policy.
D) Both A and B are correct.
E) Both A and C are correct.

When the market price is held above the competitive level, the deadweight loss is composed of:

A) producer surplus losses associated with units that used to be traded on the market but are no longer exchanged.

B) consumer surplus losses associated with units that used to be traded on the market but are no longer exchanged.
C) producer and consumer surplus losses associated with units that used to be traded on the market but are no longer exchanged.
D) There is no deadweight loss if the government uses a price floor policy to increase the price.

Compared to a tariff, an import quota, which restricts imports to the same amount as the tariff, will leave the country as a whole
A) worse off than a comparable tariff.
B) not as bad off as a comparable tariff.

C) about the same as a comparable tariff.

D) Any of the above can be true.

What is the welfare impact of a subsidy policy?
A) Producer surplus increases, consumer surplus declines, and total welfare declines.
B) Producer and consumer surplus increase, and these gains are larger than the government cost.

C) Producer and consumer surplus increase, and these gains are smaller than the government cost.

D) Producer surplus increases, consumer surplus declines, and total welfare increases due to the subsidy program.

Why is there a deadweight loss associated with subsidy payments?
A) There is no deadweight loss from a subsidy.
B) Quantity supplied is less than the equilibrium amount, so consumers and producers lose surplus value on those units that are no longer produced.
C) Quantity supplied exceeds the equilibrium amount, and consumer willingness to pay for these additional units is smaller than the marginal cost of producing them.
D) The subsidy payment does not distort quantities in the market, but the government cost exceeds consumer willingness to pay for the quantity demanded.

1. (18 total points) Suppose there are 8 firms located equidistantly around a circle whose circumference is equal to 1. There are 400 consumers distributed uniformly around the circle. Each consumer gets utility U = 3.5 from buying a unit of the good from a firm which sells their ideal brand (a firm located at the consumer’s location). Also, the consumer’s utility decreases by 4 times the distance that the consumer is located from the firm. So a consumer who buys from firm i gets utility given by U_i = 3.5 – 4x_i where x_i is the distance from the consumer’s location to firm i’s location. The consumer’s surplus from purchasing a unit of the good from firm i is the difference between their utility from purchasing a unit of the good from firm i and the price that firm i charges. So CS = U_i – P_i. Also, the consumer has no alternatives, so the consumer will buy a unit of the good if maximum surplus gained from purchasing from any firm is greater than 0.

a) (6 points) Consider a particular firm denoted Firm 2. Let Firm 1 be the firm located on one side of Firm 2, and let Firm 3 be the firm located on the other side of Firm 2. Suppose Firm 1 charges a price P₁ = 2, and Firm 3 charges a price P₃ = 2. Write a general expression for Firm 2’s demand.

b) (4 points) Suppose Firm 2 can produce its good at constant marginal cost, MC = 1.5. What price should firm 2 charge if it wants to maximize its profit?

c) (4 points) Suppose the firm has no close neighbors so that it acts as a monopolist. Therefore it captures all of the consumers whose surplus is greater than or equal to 0. Write a general expression for the firm’s demand.

d) (4 points) Suppose the monopoly firm can produce its good at constant marginal cost, MC = 1.5. What price should it charge if it wants to maximize its profit?

1. (Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility) Some restaurants offer “all you can eat” meals. How is this practice related to diminishing marginal utility? What restrictions must the restaurant impose on the customer in order to make a profit? (Answers may vary)

2. (Marginal Utility) Is it possible for marginal utility to be negative while total utility is positive? If yes, under what circumstances is it possible?

3. (Role of Time in Demand) In many amusement parks, you pay an admission fee to the park but you do not need to pay for individual rides. How do people choose which rides to go on? (Answers may vary)

4. What is the diamonds-water paradox, and how is it explained? Use the same reasoning to explain why bottled water costs so much more than tap water.

5. Please read Jane Katz’s “The Joy of Consumption: We Are What We Buy,” in the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’sRegional Review at http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/nerr/rr1997/winter/katz97_1.htm and briefly discuss/summarize the evidence that Katz cites about how the rising value of time has affected consumer spending patterns.

6. Suppose that marginal utility of Good X = 100, the price of X is $10 per unit, and the price of Y is $5. Assuming that the consumer is in equilibrium and is consuming both X and Y, what must the marginal utility of Y be? (Hint: Please apply the formula: MUx/Px = MUy/Py)

7. What is consumer surplus? What happens to consumer surplus as price level falls?

8. Do you think any good which does not exhibit the law of diminishing marginal utility?