--%>

Question on lowering the supply

The Reagan Administration introduced new agricultural program named as the Payment-in-Kind Program, in the year of 1983. In order to distinguish how the program worked, let's assume the wheat market. Now assume the government desire to lower the supply of wheat by 25 percent from the free-market equilibrium by paying farmers to withdraw land from production. Though, the payment is made in wheat instead of in dollars--hence the name of the program. The wheat comes from the government's vast reserves that resulted from previous price-support programs. The amount of wheat paid is equivalent to the amount which could have been harvested on the land withdrawn from production. Farmers are free to sell this wheat on the market. How much is produced by farmers now? How much is supplied indirectly to the market by the government? What is the new market price? How much do the farmers gain? Do consumers gain or lose?
Since the free market supply by farmers is 20 billion bushels, the 25 percent reduction needed by the new Payment-In-Kind (PIK) Program would imply that the farmers now generate 15 billion bushels. To encourage farmers to withdraw their land from cultivation, the government have to give them 5 billion bushels, which they sell on the market.
Since the total supply to the market is still 20 billion bushels, the market price does not change; this remains at $4 per bushel. The farmers gain $20 billion, equal to ($4)(5 billion bushels), from the PIK Program, since they incur no costs in supplying the wheat (which they received from the government) to the market. The PIK program does not influence consumers in the wheat market, since they purchase the similar amount at the same price as they did in the free market case.

   Related Questions in Microeconomics

  • Q : Giving wholesale price per dozen by

    When Rose Garden Wholesalers has a typical type cost structure of rose farms within this purely competitive industry, into the long run new competitors would most likely enter the market providing the wholesale price

  • Q : Capital Goods In the above diagram, the

    In the above diagram, the elimination of discrimination is best represented by

  • Q : Minor Inefficiencies in Monopolistic

    Minor inefficiencies generated since monopolistic competitors differentiate their products may be more than offset through the: (w) increase in economic equity. (x) expansion of the psychologically-meaningful choices obtainable to consumers. (y) reduc

  • Q : Occurrence of natural barriers to entry

    Natural barriers to entry within a market arise primarily by: (w) strategies by existing firms to discourage the entry of new firms. (x) perfectly inelastic demands for products. (y) the declining cost structure inherent in producing specific goods. (

  • Q : Derived Demand problem The change in

    The change in price of a resource will cause a modification in the: (i) Demand for the resource. (ii) Supply of resource. (iii) Quantity demanded of resource. (iv) Demand for good in resource production. Find out the right answer f

  • Q : Production at exceeds marginal costs by

    For any profit-maximizing monopolist not capable to price discriminate, production arises at an output level where is: (w) price exceeds marginal costs [P > MC]. (x) marginal revenue exceeds marginal costs [MR >

  • Q : Maximum possible profitable firm A firm

    A firm possessing important market power may suffer by managerial slack [X-inefficiency] and unessential high costs, which implies that, the firm: (i) is likely to be absorbed through a predatory rival. (ii) realizes less than the max

  • Q : Determine equilibrium at changing price

    Within this kinked demand curve model, when this firm operated at point a and increased its price from P2 to P3 but other firms did not increase their prices, in that cases equilibrium for this firm would move to be: (w) point b.

  • Q : Price of Bond by Perpetuity When all

    When all bonds are perpetuities which annually pay $100, at an interest rate of 2%, in that case the price of these bonds would be: (1) $9800. (2) $5000. (3) $980. (4) $800. (5) $1,020. How can I s

  • Q : Destitute Percentage of Income The

    The percentage of American families that stay put destitute year after year is around: (w) 1 2%. (x) 3 5%. (y) 5 7%. (z) 8 10%. Hello guys I want your advice. Please recommend some views for above Economics problem