Government intervention in the market Flashcards

1
Q

market failure d

A

where the free market fails to achieve an efficient allocation of resources

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2
Q

productive inefficiency d

A

when firms are not producing at minimum possible average total costs

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3
Q

allocative inefficiency d

A

when resources are not used to produce the goods and services wanted by consumers

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4
Q

fiscal policy d

A

the use of government spending and taxation to meet economic objectives

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5
Q

government failure d

A

when government intervention to correct market failure does not improve the allocation of resources or leads to a worsening of the situation

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6
Q

what are possible causes of market failure

A

externalities
merit and demerit goods
public goods

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7
Q

what are the possible methods of government intervention in markets

A

legislation and regulation
provision of goods and services
fiscal policy
information provision

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8
Q

what are the main causes of government failure

A

political self-interest
imperfect information
unintended consequences
regulatory capture

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9
Q

negative externalities d

A

negative spillover effects to third parties not involved with the consumption or production of the good

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10
Q

when do negative externalities occur

A

when there is a divergence between private costs and social costs

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11
Q

how do you show negative externalities on a graph

A

MSC to the left of MPC

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12
Q

how do you show the external costs of something like noise pollution on a diagram

A

vertical distance between two cost curves

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13
Q

what type of inefficiency occurs when there are externalities

A

allocative because socially optimal quantity is not being produced

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14
Q

how do you show welfare loss on MSC MSB diagram

A

the equilibrium point, vertically above and then to the other equilibrium point

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15
Q

what are the distributional effects associated with environmental externalities

A

there are inequalities between those who contribute to global warming and those who suffer from it

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16
Q

how could distributional effects be resolved

A

tax on the output of industrialised nations, with the revenue used to compensate citizens of developing nations for their welfare loss

17
Q

what is an example of an environmental tax

A

the congestion charge in central London

18
Q

what are the two types of economic measure to correct environmental market failure

A

market-based measures

government regulation

19
Q

what is the purpose of environmental taxation

A

to ‘internalise’ any negative externality by increasing the private cost of production

20
Q

how large is the tax for environmental taxation

A

vertical difference between the MPC and MSC

21
Q

what are some problems involved with using environmental taxation

A

difficult to place monetary value on externalities

if demand inelastic it may only reduce output slightly

22
Q

how does pollution regulation work

A

government regulates the level of output and pollution in the market and can fine firms

23
Q

problem with pollution regulation

A

expensive and difficult to enforce

doesn’t generate tax resources

24
Q

tragedy of the commons d

A

the over-exploitation of natural resources that are not owned by single individuals or organisations

25
Q

what is an example of extending property rights

A

setting up a tradable pollution permit

26
Q

how do pollution permits work

A

government sets a limit on the total level of pollution that is allowed, permits are auctioned off and can be traded between firms

27
Q

pollution permit d

A

a right to emit a given volume of waste or pollution into the environment

28
Q

cost-benefit analysis (CBA) d

A

an investment appraisal technique that takes into account all the private and external costs and benefits of an economic decision

29
Q

what are the 4 stages of CBA

A

identify costs and benefits
place monetary value on costs and benefits
statistical forecasting to estimate costs and benefits over many years
compare

30
Q

what are some limitations of CBA

A

not reflect distributional impacts
results of CBA may be ignored for political reasons
hard to place accurate value on public goods

31
Q

explain limitation of CBA, not reflect distributional impacts

A

external costs may be localised whilst external benefit, for example, job creation are likely to be more widespread (shopping centre)