Module

Econ: 74

Introduction to Externalities

•KRUGMAN'S •MICROECONOMICS for AP* Margaret Ray and David Anderson

What you will learn

• • • •

in this

Module

: What externalities are and why they can lead to inefficiency in a market economy.

Why externalities often require government intervention.

The difference between negative and positive externalities.

The importance of the Coase theorem, which explains how private individuals can sometimes

I. The Economics of Pollution

A. Marginal social cost (MSC): the additional costs imposed on society as a result of one more unit of pollution.

B. Marginal social benefit (MSB): the additional benefits received by society as a result of one more unit of pollution.

II. The External Cost of Pollution

A. External Cost – an uncompensated cost that an individual or firm imposes on others B. Also called a negative externality

The Inefficiency of Excess Pollution At Q mkt , suppose we could reduce pollution by one ton.

What would we lose? Since MSB is zero, one less ton of pollution would come at almost $0 of sacrifice to society.

What would we gain? Since MSC is $1000, if we reduced pollution by one ton we would avoid nearly $1000 of harmful costs.

MSC and MSB of pollution $1000 MSC=MSB MSC MSB Q opt Q mkt Qty of Pollution Emitted (tons)

III. Private Solutions to Externalities A. The Coase Theorem - so long as property rights are clearly defined, and transaction costs are minimal, a private solution can be found to a situation such as this.

B. These private solutions internalize the externality. The party that is imposing the hardships on the other is required to compensate the victim.

C. Many times transaction costs are too high to make a private solution easy to negotiate. (legal costs)

Module

Econ: 75

Externalities and Public Policy

•KRUGMAN'S •MICROECONOMICS for AP* Margaret Ray and David Anderson

What you will learn

• •

in this

Module

: How external benefits and costs cause inefficiency in markets.

Why some government policies to deal with externalities, such as emissions taxes, tradable emissions permits, and Pigouvian subsidies, are efficient, although others, including environmental standards, are not.

I. Policies Toward Pollution

A. Environmental Standards B. Emissions Taxes C. Tradable Emissions Permits

Production, Consumption, and Externalities • Private versus social benefits • Private versus social costs

II. Negative Externalities

A.

When the production and Price, MSC consumption of a good creates costs to third parties, that good is said to create negative externalities to society.

P opt P mkt P firm B. Pigouvian Tax Q opt Q mkt D Tax MSC MPC Qty electricity

III. Positive Externalities

A.

When the production and consumption of a good provides benefits to third parties, that good is said to provide positive externalities to society.

B. Pigouvian Subsidy Price, MSB P opt P mkt P cons S Subsidy Q mkt Q opt MPB MSB Qty home improvements

IV. Network Externalities A. A network externality exists when the value to an individual of a good or service depends on how many other people use the same good or service.

B. Example: When more people use Facebook or Twitter, it becomes more valuable to you

Module

Econ: 76 Public Goods •KRUGMAN'S •MICROECONOMICS for AP* Margaret Ray and David Anderson

What you will learn in this

Module

: • • • • • How public goods are characterized and why markets fail to supply efficient quantities of public goods.

What common resources are and why they are overused. What artificially scarce goods are and why they are under-consumed.

How government intervention in the production and consumption of these types of goods can make society better off.

Why finding the right level of government intervention is often difficult.

I. Private Goods A. Private goods are what we have studied thus far B. Private goods have two characteristics. They are; 1. Excludable- You can prevent people who don’t pay from consuming it 2. Rival- the unit of the good cannot be consumed by more than one person at the same time

II. Public Goods A. Public goods are; 1. Non-excludable- Can’t exclude anyone on basis of payment 2. Non-rival- more than one person can consume it at the same time without the benefit going down

III. Common Resources A. Common resources are; 1. Non-excludable 2. Rival

IV. Artificially Scarce Goods A. Artificially scarce goods are; 1. Excludable 2. Non-rival

V. Markets Only Provide Private Goods Efficiently

A. Markets will not provide the efficient level of public goods B. The efficient level of public goods is the quantity where MSC = MSB

VI. Providing Common Resources

A. The problem of overuse and the “Tragedy of the Commons” B. Maintaining a common resource C. Examples of common resources?

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VII. The Efficient Level of Artificially Scarce Goods

A. MC of providing the good is zero B. Firms can’t set price equal to zero C. Example of artificially scarce good?

Module

Econ: 77

Public Policy to Promote Competition

•KRUGMAN'S •MICROECONOMICS for AP* Margaret Ray and David Anderson

What you will learn

• • •

in this

Module

: The three major antitrust laws and how they are used to promote competition.

How government regulation is used to prevent inefficiency in the case of natural monopoly.

The pros and cons of using marginal cost pricing and average cost pricing to regulate prices in natural monopolies.

I. Promoting Competition and Efficiency

A. Antitrust laws 1. Protect competition 2. Ensure lower prices 3. Promote development of better products B. Price regulation 1. When economies of scale make it efficient to have one firm in a market, that natural monopoly can be taken over by the government or regulated

II. Antitrust Laws A. Sherman Act B. Clayton Act C. FTC Act

III. Price Regulation

A. Marginal-cost pricing- the firm must operate at the point where P=MC. Government would subsidize any losses at taxpayer expense.

B. Average-cost pricing- the firm must operate at the point where P=ATC. This insures that the firm will earn normal economic profit, but some dead weight loss will occur.

Module

Econ: 78

Income Distribution and Income Inequality

•KRUGMAN'S •MICROECONOMICS for AP* Margaret Ray and David Anderson

What you will learn

• • •

in this

Module

: What defines poverty, what causes poverty, and the consequences of poverty.

How income inequality in America has changed over time.

How programs like Social Security affect poverty and income inequality.

I. Poverty

• • • • Trends in poverty Who is poor?

Causes of poverty Consequences of poverty

II. Lorenz Curve

Lorenz curve: A Lorenz curve shows the degree of inequality that exists in the distributions of two variables, and is often used to illustrate the extent that income or wealth are distributed unequally in a particular society.

Gini coefficient: A Gini coefficient is a summary numerical measure of how unequally one variable is related to another. The Gini coefficient is a number between 0 and 1, where perfect equality has a Gini coefficint of zero, and absolute inequality yields a Gini coefficint of 1

III. Income Inequality

Income group Average 2008 income % of total income 2008 % of total if distributed equally income

20% 3.4% Bottom quintile Second quintile $11,656 $29,517 Third quintile $50,132 20% 20% 8.6% 14.7% Fourth quintile Top quintile $79,760 $171,057 20% 20% 23.3% 50% • Using quintiles to analyze income distribution • The Gini coefficient

IV. Economic Insecurity A.

In addition to the problem of poverty, we are concerned with the possibility that people or families can fall into poverty due to unanticipated events.

B. Because these uncertain events can cause any family to have economic insecurity, we have a welfare state to provide temporary assistance.

V. U.S. Antipoverty Programs

A. Means-tested 1. Criteria is established to qualify 2. An example would be level of income and size of family B. Social Security and unemployment insurance – Social Security funded by tax on wages – Unemployment funded by tax on employers C. The effects of programs on poverty – Research says yes, but…

VI. The Debate Over Income

• • •

Redistribution

Problems with income redistribution The politics of income redistribution Barstool Economics

The Laffer Curve

The curve suggests that, as taxes increase from low levels, tax revenue collected by the government also increases. It also shows that tax rates increasing after a certain point (T*) would cause people not to work as hard or not at all, thereby reducing tax revenue. Eventually, if tax rates reached 100% (the far right of the curve), then all people would choose not to work because everything they earned would go to the government.