ECON 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Price Controls, Tax Incidence, Deadweight Loss

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3 Jun 2018

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5/1/18

- Price floor: a minimum price allowed by law; not as common as price ceilings (but still as important)

- 4 effects of price floors:

o Surpluses

o Lost gains from trade (deadweight loss)

o Wasteful increases in quality

o A misallocation of resources

- Ex: the market for unskilled labor

o A price floor below the equilibrium price is not binding – has no effect on the market outcome

o If the equilibrium wags is below the floor it is therefore illegal; the floor here is a binding

constraint on the wage – causes a surplus (unemployment)

o Miiu age las do’t affet highl skilled okes, ut the do affet tee okes

- 4 effects of price floors:

o Surplus

▪ If the new price is above equilibrium, it leads to

o Lost gains from trade

▪ Deadweight loss = lost consumer surplus + lost producer surplus

o Wasteful increases in quality

▪ Beause of the deadeight loss, the iease ualit  the a’t loe the pie ad

have to find other ways to compete

▪ Higher quality raises costs and reduces seller profit

▪ Buyers get higher quality, but would prefer a lower price

▪ Price floors encourage sellers to waste resources: higher quality than buyers are willing

to pay for

o Misallocation of resources

▪ Price controls misallocate resources by:

• Allowing high-cost firms to operate

• Preventing low-cost firms from entering the industry

- Taxes

o Purpose: government levies taxes on many goods and service to raise revenue to pay for

national defense, public schools, etc

o The government can make buyers or sellers pay the tax

o The ta a e a % of the good’s pie, or a specific amount for each unit sold

o Commodity tax: a tax on goods

- Incidence of tax: how the burden of a tax is shared among market participants

- Elasticity and Tax incidence

o If it’s easie fo selles tha ues to leae the aket the, ues ea most of the burden of

the tax

o If it’s easie fo ues tha selles to leae the aket, the selles ea ost of the ude of

the tax

- The effects of a tax:

o Consumer surplus – consumers get this

o Deadweight loss – no one gets this

o Tax revenue – the government gets this

o Producer surplus – producers get this

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Document Summary

Price floor: a minimum price allowed by law; not as common as price ceilings (but still as important) 4 effects of price floors: surpluses, lost gains from trade (deadweight loss, wasteful increases in quality, a misallocation of resources. Ex: the market for unskilled labor: a price floor below the equilibrium price is not binding has no effect on the market outcome. 4 effects of price floors: surplus. Incidence of tax: how the burden of a tax is shared among market participants. If it"s easie(cid:396) fo(cid:396) selle(cid:396)s tha(cid:374) (cid:271)u(cid:455)e(cid:396)s to lea(cid:448)e the (cid:373)a(cid:396)ket the(cid:374), (cid:271)u(cid:455)e(cid:396)s (cid:271)ea(cid:396) most of the burden of the tax. If it"s easie(cid:396) fo(cid:396) (cid:271)u(cid:455)e(cid:396)s tha(cid:374) selle(cid:396)s to lea(cid:448)e the (cid:373)a(cid:396)ket, the(cid:374) selle(cid:396)s (cid:271)ea(cid:396) (cid:373)ost of the (cid:271)u(cid:396)de(cid:374) of the tax.

Related Questions

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.

violetmole943

Question 1

During a crisis such as Hurricane Katrina, governments often make it illegal to raise the price of emergency items like flashlights and bottled water. In practice, this means that these items get sold on a first-come, first-served basis. If a person has a flashlight that she values at $5, but its price on the black market is $40, what gains from trade are lost if the government shuts down the black market?

		$30
		$35
		$40
		Indeterminant with the given information.

2 points

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of a price floor?

		A sale price with a limit on the quantity you can purchase.
		Rent-controlled apartments
		Predatory pricing designed to put a competitor out of business.
		The minimum wage

2 points

Question 3

Airline regulation of the 1970s produced a similar result to which of the following government interventions?

		The Affordable Care Act
		Minimum wage laws
		Rent control laws
		Communism

2 points

Question 4

Which of the following is a possible effect of a price ceiling?

		A surplus of the good.
		Increases in product quality.
		Increased gains from trade.
		People will waste time in lines waiting to purchase the good.

2 points

Question 5

What is a price ceiling?

		A minimum price consumers are willing to pay.
		A minimum price allowed by law.
		A maximum price allowed by law.
		A maximum price consumers are willing to pay.

2 points

Question 6

Why are the long lines generated by a shortage worse than paying a higher price in money?

		It is not better or worse. Paying in time and paying in money are essentially the same in a market economy.
		Paying with time reduces the value of money, and prevents valuable trades from occurring.
		Waiting in line is a waste of a valuable resource: time. Paying a price in money transfers the value of resources from one person to another, and maximizes the value of resources.
		Paying with time gives those who do not work an advantage over those who do.

2 points

Question 7

Which of the following is a possible effect of a price floor?

		The quantity supplied exceeds the quantity demanded.
		Increased gains from trade.
		Decreases in product quality.
		A shortage of the good.

1. Suppose that there is a tax of $1 per unit, and the elasticity of supply is 3 and the elasticity of demand is 2 (in absolute value). How much of the $1 tax is paid by sellers?

		$0.60
		$0.40
		$0.75
		$0.67

2. In Market X, the external benefit of consumption is $5. In Market Y, the external cost of consumption is $10. Efficiency in both markets could be achieved by:

		a tax of $5 in Market X and a subsidy of $10 in Market Y.
		subsidizing both markets.
		taxing Market Y and subsidizing Market X.
		taxing both markets.

3.Economic theory suggests that a natural monopoly should be:

		eliminated whenever it arises.
		regulated to take advantage of economies of scale.
		left alone to operate with excess capacity.
		taken over by the government.

4.When the size of the production is the most efficient:

		total cost is at the minimum.
		average cost is at the minimum.
		marginal cost is at the minimum.
		fixed cost is at the minimum.

5.A firm should exit the industry if which of the following conditions apply?

		TR > TC
		P < AC
		Lifetime expected profit is positive.
		Prices are low now but expected to rise.

6.Figure: Costs

Reference: Ref 11-6

(Figure: Costs) Use the figure. At a price of $20, the firm earns profit of:

		$75.
		$300.
		$225.
		$0, because P = MC at P = $20.

7.When external benefits are present, the market price is ________, however when external costs are present, the market price is ________.

		too low; too high
		equal to the efficient price; too low
		too high; too low
		equal to the efficient price; too high

8.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

I. The EPA's tradeable allowances program for sulfur dioxide establishes property rights to pollute and helps reduce transaction costs by distributing allowances, maintaining databases, and monitoring emissions.

II. One criticism of tradeable allowances is that they prohibit non-businesses and environmental groups from purchasing the allowances.

III. The tradeable allowances for sulfur dioxide have performed poorly because electricity output has increased, causing a rise in sulfur dioxide levels.

		I only
		II and III only
		I, II, and III
		III only

9.Price floors make it illegal to compete for more customers by lowering prices, so firms compete by offering customers:

		various options.
		more quantity.
		more discount.
		higher quality.

10.Figure: Government Price Controls

Reference: Ref 8-3

(Figure: Government Price Controls) Refer to the figure. If the government sets the price ceiling at $31, there will be:

		a shortage of 15 units.
		a surplus of 15 units.
		a supply of 20 units.
		no effect on the market.

11.In which of these instances does price function as a signal in the market?

		Suppliers invest more in exploration when the price of oil increases.
		Consumers complain of price gouging as the price of oil skyrockets.
		Government imposes price controls on the skyrocketing price of oil.
		All of the answers are correct.

12.Ethanol and sugar are both made from sugar cane, and ethanol can be used as substitute fuel for oil. Increasing oil prices cause the demand for ethanol to increase. This will cause the ______ sugar to ______ and its price to ______.

		demand for; decrease; decrease
		supply of; increase; increase
		supply of; decrease; increase
		demand for; increase; increase

13.Why do cotton growers spend billions of dollars to dam rivers and transport water hundreds of miles to grow cotton in California deserts?

		Cotton growers in California don't pay payroll taxes.
		The water used to grow California cotton is highly subsidized by the government.
		Cotton growers in California are mostly operated as nonprofit enterprises.
		The water used to grow California cotton is high in mineral contents, making for a bigger cotton yield.

14.Suppose that the equilibrium price in the market is $10. If the current market price is $7.50:

		the equilibrium price will fall to $7.50.
		competition among buyers will increase the current price.
		the current price will fall below $7.50 as sellers compete for market share.
		There is not enough information provided to answer the question.

15.Which of the following would increase the demand for beef?

		lower pork prices
		higher consumer income
		higher prices of feed grains used to feed beef cattle
		an increase in the price of beef

16.A change in quantity supplied is reflected by a movement along the same supply curve while a change in supply refers to a shift in the entire supply curve.

True

False

17.Table: Production in the United States and Germany

Labor units required to produce:

One Clock

One Sofa

United States		2	5
Germany		3	9

Reference: Ref 2-8

(Table: Production in the United States and Germany) According to the table, the opportunity cost of producing one sofa in the United States is _________, and the opportunity cost of producing one sofa in Germany is _______.

		two clocks; three clocks
		10 clocks; 27 clocks
		0.4 clocks; 0.33 clocks
		2.5 clocks; three clocks

18.Mark values his drum set at $800 and Ella values her guitar at $1,000. Suppose that Mark trades his drum set for Ella's guitar.

		This trade makes Ella worse off by $200.
		This trade makes Mark better off by $200.
		Mark must value Ella's guitar for at least $1,000, and Ella must value Mark's drum set for at least $800.
		This trade creates value by moving the guitar and drum set to people who value them more.

ECON 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Price Controls, Tax Incidence, Deadweight Loss

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