2.7 role of government (government intervention) Flashcards
purpose of indirect tax
- increasing tax revenue
- correcting market failure (negative externalities, demerit goods)
main forms of government intervention in markets [6]
1) Indirect taxes
2) Subsidies
3) Price control: price ceilings & price floors
4) Command and control regulation and legislation
5) Direct provision of goods and services
6) Nudges (HL only)
examples of the purposes of indirect tax
- increasing tax revenue
- e.g. onsen hot spring in Japan
- correcting market failure (negative externalities, demerit goods)
- e.g. discourage people from using indoor tanning services in US, risks of skin cancer from UV light exposure
- e.g. tax on junk food in Hungary
e.g. Bachelor tax in South Africa
indirect tax
tax imposed on spending (goods & services)
direct tax
tax imposed on income, profits and wealth
excise tax
an indirect tax on a specific good or service
specific tax
a fixed amount of tax per unit of good or service sold
Why does a supply curve shift upwards when as indirect tax is applied?
Indirect taxes are paid by the firm to the government
- Therefore, for every level of output the firm is willing to supply to the market, it must receive a price that is higher than the original price by the amount of tax
Ad Valorem tax
tax calculated as a fixed percentage of the price off the good or service
examples of excise tax in HK
- alcohol, petrol, cigarettes, for new cars only in general
- demerit goods, want to discourage consumption
why impose taxes?
1) Government revenue
2) Distribution of income
3) Correcting negative externalities to improve allocative efficiencies
- e.g. influencing level of production
- e.g. influencing level of consumption
is tax revenue a loss to society?
tax revenue is not a loss to society b/c tax revenue is reinvested into the economy in the form of welfare, education etc.
effect if indirect tax on stakeholders
- Consumers :(
- CS decrease → price increase & quantity decrease
- Producers :(
- PS decrease → price decrease & quantity decrease
- Workers :(
- Total revenue decrease ⇒ P1Q1 → P3Q2 → lower production → fire workers (lower COP)
- Government :)
- Tax revenue
- Society :(
- Deadweight loss, SS decrease due to dwl
what happens to the allocation of resources when an indirect tax is imposed
underallocation of resources
- the society is allocatively efficient when production is at Q0
- society is being worse off as less goods are produced at Q1
what is the assumption made about a good before government intervention
good before government intervention – is at allocative efficiency
Why is there a deadweight loss when the supply curve shifts to the left?
- Assumption → before government intervention, everything allocated most efficiently
- Q0 → allocative efficiency
- To measure allocative efficiency: look at the quantity
- In society: prefer Q0, but now only Q1 → underallocation of resources → misallocation of resources
subsidy
financial support to individuals or groups for reducing costs of production
purpose of subsidies [5]
- Increase producer revenue (e.g. agricultural products)
- Make necessities more affordable
- Encourage production and consumption of socially desirable/merit goods or services (correcting allocative efficiency) (e.g. vaccinations and education)
- Support the growth of particular industries (e.g. enterprise support scheme for R&D in HK)
- Encourage exports