--%>

External costs and external benefits

Question:

(a)         Explain the impact of external costs and external benefits on resource allocation;

(b)         Why are public goods not produced in sufficient quantities by private markets?

(c)         Which of the following are examples of public goods (or services)? Delete the incorrect option

Explain your choice.

  (i)       The Judicial system       ..................................................................................................................... Yes/No

  (ii)      Pencils       ........................................................................................................................................... Yes/No

  (iii)     The quarantine service    ................................................................................................................. Yes/No

  (iv)     The Great Wall of China....................................................................................................................... Yes/No

  (v)      Contact lenses       ............................................................................................................................. Yes/No

Summary:

The question is about externalities affecting resource allocation, public goods and their implication on the profit of a firm have been answered.

Answer:

(a)     External costs and benefits, known as externalities; can affect resource allocation in both positive and negative manner. A negative externality can increase the cost of operations, and this is mainly due to the harmful effect of one industry's or economic agent's operation on the other. An example may be the effect of a factory dumping its waste in a river, which adversely affects the operations of fishing industry. On the other hand, a positive externality helps reduce the cost of operation in one sector due to favourable operation in other sector. An example in case is a highly educated person living in a locality and teaching people about good effects of sanitation, which leads to a decline in healthcare costs of the locality.

(b)  The private markets take into account only the direct benefits accruing to the producer in the calculation of profit optimization. However, public goods by their very nature are non-rival and non-excludable. This generates positive externalities and hence creates social benefits which are not taken into account by the private producers. This leads to an under-provision of public goods in the private market.

(c)

  • Yes
  • No
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • No

   Related Questions in Microeconomics

  • Q : Problem on Proprietorships Can someone

    Can someone please help me in finding out the accurate answer from the following question. The most general legal form of business in United States is: (1) Sole proprietorships. (2) Partnerships. (3) Cooperatives. (4) Corporations.

  • Q : Requirement of Production Possibilities

    Deriving a production possibilities frontier needs the supposition that: (1) Resources are variable in the supply. (2) There are limitless numbers of goods. (3) Economic growth takes place at a normal rate. (4) All scarce resources are proficiently em

  • Q : Zero elasticity for demand curves When

    When any truly existed, then perfectly inelastic demand curves would include: (i) price elasticities of infinity and be horizontal. (ii) zero elasticity and be horizontal. (iii) a slope of one. (iv) price elasticities of infinity and would be vertical

  • Q : Marginalism and Optimization Most of

    Most of the microeconomic models hinge on suppositions that all choices by each and every individual imitate attempts to: (1) Conform to social mores and cultural norms. (2) Propagate the individual’s gene pool into the future generations. (3) B

  • Q : Elasticity and profit maximization A

    A nondiscriminating monopolist cannot maximize profits through producing where demand: (w) price elastic. (x) price inelastic. (y) above marginal cost. (z) above marginal revenue. Can someone explain/help me with b

  • Q : Long run adjustments in industry

    Associate to short-run supply curves, in long-run industry supply curves tend to be additionally: (i) vertical. (ii) positively-sloped. (iii) profitable. (iv) income inelastic. (v) price elastic. C

  • Q : Expectations in market demands for

    Present market demands for most of the durable goods tend to rise if: (1) Their prices are predicted to rise in the near future. (2) Consumers expect growth in supplies of substitutes. (3) Technological advances make present models obsolete. (4) The p

  • Q : Definition of Collective Bargaining The

    The procedure in which employers and unions agree to labor contracts which govern work arrangements is termed as: (i) Arbitration. (ii) Codependency. (iii) Bilateral monopoly. (iv) Joint profit maximization. (v) Collective bargaining.

    Q : Law of demand is price in the law of

    is price in the law of demand an absolute or relative price

  • Q : Problem on market demand for chewing gum

    The market demand for the chewing gum is as: QG = 300 – 40PG – 8PS + 0.05IHere:QG = Quantity of gum demandedPG = price of gumPS = price of sodaI = average inc