Chapter 4

Assume that candle wax is traded in a perfectly competitive market in which the demand curve captures buyers' full willingness to pay while the supply curve reflects all production costs. For each of the following situations, indicate whether the total output should be increased, decreased, or kept the same in order to achieve allocative and productive efficiency. a. Maximum willingness to pay exceeds minimum acceptable price. b. \(\mathrm{MC}>\mathrm{MB}\) c. Total surplus is at a maximum. d. The current quantity produced exceeds the market equilibrium quantity.

Draw a production possibilities curve with public goods on the vertical axis and private goods on the horizontal axis. Assuming the economy is initially operating on the curve, indicate how the production of public goods might be increased. How might the output of public goods be increased if the economy is initially operating at a point inside the curve?

Use the distinction between the characteristics of private and public goods to determine whether the following should be produced through the market system or provided by government: (a) French fries, (b) airport screening, (c) court systems, (d) mail delivery, and (e) medical care. State why you answered as you did in each case.

Match each of the following characteristics or scenarios with either the term negative externality or the term positive externality. a. Overallocation of resources. b. Tammy installs a very nice front garden, raising the property values of all the other houses on her block. c. Market demand curves are too far to the left (too low). d. Underallocation of resources. e. Water pollution from a factory forces neighbors to buy water purifiers.

Use marginal cost/marginal benefit analysis to determine if the following statement is true or false: "The optimal amount of pollution abatement for some substances, say, dirty water from storm drains, is very low; the optimal amount of abatement for other substances, say, cyanide poison, is close to 100 percent."