--%>
Assignment Help - homework help

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 : Making error of omission Numerous big

    Numerous big publishing companies refused to publish a horror novel since the author was nameless. The author ultimately found a small publishing house to publish his book. The book sold millions of copies and produced hundreds of thousands of dollars in total revenue

    		•
  • Q : Profits and Losses in firms Of all the

    Of all the profits made by the U.S. firms, corporations account for regarding: (1) Less than 10 percent. (2) Between 10 percent and 20 percent. (3) Between 20 percent and 40 percent. (4) More than 40 percent. Can someone please hel

    		•
  • Q : Perfect complements of Complementary

    I have a problem in economics on Perfect complements of Complementary Goods. Please help me in the following question. Left and right shoes are illustrations of nearly: (1) Production complements. (2) Perfect complements. (3) Joint production. (4) Per

    		•
  • Q : Measures of Poverty Line The poverty

    The poverty line is: (1) about $15000/year for a family of two in 2006. (2) an index which varies depending on family characteristics. (3) dependent only on the size and income of a family. (4) about $12500/year for a family of four in 2006. (5) the p

    		•
  • Q : Effects of Globalization on Indian

    What do you mean by globalization and its effects on the Indian economy?

    		•
  • Q : Contestable Markets When consumers

    When consumers ultimately cannot distinguish one roasted chicken dinner from other, when roasted chicken dinners are produced within a constant cost industry, and when no barriers to entry or exit exist, in that case the long-

    		•
  • Q : Resources-Intermediate Goods Can

    Can someone please help me in finding out the precise answer from the following question. Intermediate inputs into the production procedure would comprise: (1) Crude oil. (2) Tennis shoes. (3) Untreated water. (4) Flour.

    		•
  • Q : Stabilization function Choose the right

    Choose the right answer of thefollowing problem. In performing its stabilization function, it may be appropriate for the nation's central bank (the Federal Reserve in the United States) to take actions to: A) increase taxes to reduce inflation. B) increase interest ra

    		•
  • Q : Short-run market supply curve of a

    Short-run market supply curve of a competitive industry is derived by summing all the firms’: (1) average cost curves vertically. (2) short-run supply curves horizontally. (3) production capacities along with the resources available. (4) individ

    		•
  • Q : Total variable cost when maximizes

    Total variable cost when this firm maximizes economic profits would be: (i) $12,000 per period. (ii) $24,000 per period. (iii) $32,000 per period. (iv) $48,000 per period. (v) $60,000 per period.