--%>

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 : Positively sloped demand curve of

    When your income is positively and closely tied to the price of a specific product, a raise in its price might cause: (1) The income effect which, in severe conditions, yields a positively sloped demand curve. (2) You to go bankrupt. (3) The powerful positive substitu

  • Q : Firms in industry change When the firms

    When the firms are earning abnormal gains, how will the number of firms in industry change? Answer: The number of firms in industry will tend to rise.

  • Q : Firms sanctioned by state laws I have a

    I have a problem in economics on Firms sanctioned by state laws. Please help me in the following question. The Firms sanctioned by state laws and considered lawful entities separate and dissimilar from their owners are: (1) Proprietorships. (2) Corpor

  • Q : Prices decrement in price elasticity of

    When animal rights activists persuade several fur coat buyers to switch to micro-fiber jackets as well as pelt prices decrease from $150 to $50 each, resultant in the baby seal harvest decreasing from 18,000 to 6,000 yearly, in that case the price elasticity

  • Q : Competitive advertising as waste of

    Economists have conventionally concluded which, from the vantage point of society as an entire, competitive advertising in that case: (1) enables consumers to make more efficient economic choices. (2) is a waste of resources. (3) cons

  • Q : Numerical problem on Relative Prices

    When the market price of a gallon of gas is similar as the cost of 4 pineapples in dollars, the relative price of the pineapple is: (i) 1/4 of a gallon of gas. (ii) 25 cents. (iii) 4 gallons of gas. (iv) $4.00. Can someone please h

  • Q : Break-even level of income The

    The break-even level of income for four member of family under the negative income tax system demonstrated in this figure is: (1) $15,000 per year. (2) $30,000 per year. (3) $45,000 per year. (4) $60,000 per year. (5) $75,000 per year

  • Q : Natural barriers to entry in network

    Assume that an equipment or software firm has copyrights and patents which restrict other firms from producing goods embodying its technology, and which the firm is shielded from competition since customers can deal along with each other at lower costs when they utili

  • Q : Profit from predatory pricing In order

    In order for a firm to profit from predatory pricing: (w) the incumbent must fulfill the entire industry demand at a price below costs. (x) the cost of predation should be less than the profits incurred through driving out one’s rivals from the

  • Q : Problem on Supply Prices Can someone

    Can someone please help me in finding out the accurate answer from the following question. The relative monetary values organizations put on selling a bit more or less of a good are termed as: (i) Supply curves. (ii) Gain-maximizing prices. (3) Supply prices. (4) Pric