--%>

Chance for arbitrage

Assume the price of unleaded regular octane gasoline were 20 cents per gallon higher in New Jersey than in Oklahoma.  Do you think there would be chance for arbitrage (that means. that firms could buy gas in Oklahoma and then sell it at profit in New Jersey)?  Why or why not?

Oklahoma and New Jersey stand for separate geographic markets for gasoline due to high transportation costs.  If transportation costs were zero, a price raise in New Jersey would prompt arbitrageurs to buy gasoline in Oklahoma and sell it in New Jersey.  In this case it is unlikely that the 20 cents per gallon difference in costs would be high sufficient to create a profitable opportunity for arbitrage, given both transactions costs & transportation costs.

   Related Questions in Microeconomics

  • Q : Determine water elasticity of production

    When 200,000 gallons of water are applied per acre, 4 tons are harvested by each acre of linguini trees yearly, but cutting back to 160,000 gallons causes the crop per acre to reduce to 2 tons yearly. Then water elasticity of linguini production is as

  • Q : Selling of physically indistinguishable

    While physically indistinguishable units of a good are concurrently sold at various prices at various locations, such price differentials reflect: (1) differences within marketing and advertising costs. (2) rational ignorance by consumers. (3) differe

  • Q : Vietnam divided into two different

    Why Vietnam divided into two different nations?

  • Q : Attract new firms by economics profits

    Economic profits within a competitive industry are signals which: (i) attract new firms into the industry. (ii) hinder innovation of new technologies. (iii) encourage inefficiency in existing firms. (iv) business conditions are deteriorating. (v) pric

  • Q : Hiring labor for Profit Maximization

    When the marginal revenue product of the very last worker hired is more than the marginal resource cost of the worker, then the firm: (1) Is experiencing rising returns to the scale. (2) Can raise its gains by hiring more labor. (3) Is maximizing the profit. (4) Must

  • Q : Problem on quantity of Whopper Slushees

    When Adam Smith’s invisible hand executed with no government intervention, this market would be in equilibrium and quantity of Whopper Slushees demanded the quantity supplied would be equivalent at: (i) Price P1. (ii) Quantity Q1. (iii) Price P3. (iv) Quantity Q

  • Q : Open Shops problems Can someone help me

    Can someone help me in finding out the right answer from the given options. Firms which employ workers devoid of needing any form of either dues or union membership are: (i) Agency shops. (ii) Laissez-faire shops. (iii) Closed shops. (iv) Union shops. (v) Open shops.<

  • Q : Demanding more labor in competitive fim

    A competitive firm will demand more labor when: (1) technological advances favor automation. (2) the price of the firm's output rises. (3) more firms enter the industry. (4) the value of the marginal product is below the wage rate. (5) workers utilize

  • Q : Purely competitive market demand of

    When the income distribution is acceptable and no externalities survive, purely competitive market demand curves as: (w) also marginal social benefits curves. (x) inverted marginal social cost curves. (y) horizontal at the market pric

  • Q : Externalities and Deadweight Loss

    Assume that the demand and supply for a product can be described by the following equations:Q= 1200-4PQ= -200+2P Producing the product results in marginal external damage of $8 per unit.a. What type of