--%>

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 : Maximizes profits when price equal to

    A purely competitive firm will turn out where P = MC since this: (w) is good for society. (x) is all which is permitted through law. (y) maximizes profits. (z) permits price adjustment although not quantity adjustment.

    Q : Adverse Selection problem I have a

    I have a problem in economics on Adverse Selection problem. Please help me in the following question. When Sally Sleaze sells Terry Tonedeaf a low quality boom-box by advertising it as ‘top of the line’, there is a trouble of: (i) Irrational ignorance. (ii

  • Q : Market economies of individual

    In the market economies, resources are finally owned by the: (i) Corporations which dominate the economic activity. (ii) Proprietorships and partnerships. (iii) Business firms collectively. (iv) Individual house-holds. (v) Government acting as the social trustee.

  • Q : Theory of imperfect competition An

    An extensive theory of imperfect competition was initially developed by: (1) John Maynard Keynes. (2) Antoine Augustin Cournot. (3) Joan Robinson. (4) Joseph Schumpeter. (5) Thorstein Veblen. How can I solve my

  • Q : Estimation of price elasticity of

    You can calculate approximately a price elasticity of supply by data indicating that: (a) steel production rises 18 % while national income grows 13 %. (b) farmers increase soybean plantings 15 % while prices rise 5 %. (c) Ford raises production when

  • Q : Bilateral Monopoly Can someone help me

    Can someone help me in finding out the right answer from the given options. The Bilateral monopoly models would be most suitably used to analyze the negotiations between: (1) LeBron James, a star NBA basketball player and the Cleveland Cavaliers. (2)

  • Q : Marginal Revenue and Total Revenue If a

    If a monopolist which does not price discriminate has maximum total revenue as: (1) demand is perfectly price elastic. (2) marginal revenue is positive. (3) demand is relatively inelastic  (4) marginal revenue is

  • Q : Get economic profit by economic rent

    When you quickly attain economic profit because you build a store on rented land which turns out to be located conveniently for potential customers, in that case: (w) profit will increase when you buy the land after your lease expires. (x) rent will a

  • Q : Problem regarding borrowing from

    The main source of external funding employed when major American corporations contain expanded their operations in the precedent three decades has been: (1) Borrowing from commercial banks. (2) Selling the record amounts of latest corporate stock. (3) Borrowing via is

  • Q : Asymmetric Information-Efficiency of

    Asymmetric information is less difficult for the efficiency of laissez faire transactions whenever transactions: (i) Are voluntary and are predict to be repeated many times. (ii) Costs are relatively very high. (iii) Are regulated by the complex govt.