W6 Flashcards
What is a market?
- an economic insitution that allows for the pursuing of private objectives to efficiently produce and allocate goods and services
- they have foundations resulting from social institutions and other social norms eg. laws guarantee property rights and the enforcement of contracts
- allows for many different individuals globally interact for mutual gain
Are markets pareto efficient?
Not necessarily pareto efficient or the best outcome
- there can be market failures
- asymmetric information - this is critical
What are the two things that market allow for?
specialisation and division of labour
- faster learning by doing
- greater economies of scale
What is a price signal?
prices can signal the scarcity - prices up- or excess - prices down of g/s in the market
- in competitive markets the price= marginal costs - which signals the cost to society of producing a good
What is the relationship between price and marginal costs?
In a competitive market price = marginal cost
but the price may fail to reflect the social marginal cost
- if there is a lack of competition P>MC
- if there are external effects P><SMC
i.e. positive or negative externalities
What are the sources of market failure
- incomplete contracts
- missing/incomplete/asymmetric information
- externalities/moral hazards/adverse selection
What is an external cost?
a negative effect of an economic decisision that is not accounted for in the contract
eg. the adverse effect of pesticide use by a banana plantation on the fishing industry on an island
In an externality situation what is the relationship between marginal social cost and marginal private costs?
MSC>MPC
you are producing more than the socially optimal quantity
What would a negative externality in PRODUCTION graph look like?
Supply and deamd curves etc.
Supply curve MSC>MPC - i.e further to the left
there would be a deadweight loss at the current quantitity produced - ABOVE the SMC line
MARKET QUANTITIY WOULD BE LARGER THAN IS SOCIALLY DESIRABLE
eg. pollution
What would a positive externality in CONSUMPTION look like?
Supply and deamd curves etc.
Supply curve MSC>MPC - i.e further to the left
there would be a deadweight loss at the current quantitity produced - BELOW the SMC line
MARKET QUANTITY IS SMALLER THAN SOCIALLY DESIREABLE
eg. renewable energy production
What is the marginal social cost made up of?
MSC= MPC+MEC
marginal social cost = marginal private costs + marginal external cost
What is the marginal social benefit made up of?
MSB= MPB+MEB
marginal social benifit = marginal private benefit + marginal external benefit
What relationship between marginal social cost and marginal social benefit creates a pareto efficient situation?
MSC= MSB
you can consume or increase a good as long as MSB>MSC
What is a private decision?
Decesisions that do not take into account external benefits or costs
What is a private market?
these are not always pareto efficient … MPC=/= MPB
Why might coasean bargaining not work?
- transaction costs = cost of acquiring information, enforcing a contract or collective action
- missing information = measurement in agg and for each party - origin of the pollutant
- readability and legal enforcement
- limited funds
-fairness - eg. polluter pays principle