Chapter 5 Flashcards
What is welfare economics
Assesses how well the economy allocates its scarce resources in accordance with the goals of efficiency and equity
Efficiency addresses
the question of how well the economy’s resources are used and
allocated.
Equity deals with
deals with how society’s goods and rewards are, and should be, distributed
among its different members, and how the associated costs should be apportioned.
Give an example of efficiency and equity on tesla cars buyers
deals with how society’s goods and rewards are, and should be, distributed
among its different members, and how the associated costs should be apportioned.
What is reservation price
A reservation (or reserve) price is a limit on the price of a good or a service. On the demand side, it is the highest price that a buyer is willing to pay; on the supply side, it is the lowest price at which a seller is willing to sell a good or service.
What is consumer surplus
the excess of consumer willingness to pay over the market
price.
What is supplier or producer surplus
excess of market price over the reservation price
of the supplier.
What is intergenerational equity
Deals with whether the policies we adopt today are “fair” for the next generation
Example: If we emit an excess of greenhouse gases today, will the next generation have to pay for the current generation’s excess?
Valuation is
The price that the consumer will give for some good
Formula for price surplus
Price -C (willingness to accept reservation price)
suppliers and demanders are willing to participate in the market because
They earn surplus
How to find a consumer and producer surplus using the graph
CS- the area of the triangle below D curve above the price
PS- area of the triangle above the S curve below the price
Total surplus is
The sum of producer and consumer surpluses
What is an efficient market
An efficient market maximizes the sum of producer and consumer surpluses.
What is marginal cost and marginal benefit and their relationship
The free market equilibrium may be efficient
At that equilibrium, the marginal benefit (on the D side) from consuming one more unit equals the marginal cost (on the S side) from producing one more unit provided the demand curve measures benefits correctly and the supply curve measures costs correctly
The change if the supply curve if the tax is percentage and if fixed cost per unit
Fixed cost: parallel shift
Percentage: the incline changes