MICROECONOMICS: Theory & Applications By Edgar K. Browning & Mark A. Zupan John Wiley & Sons, Inc....

MICROECONOMICS: Theory &

Applications

By Edgar K. Browning & Mark A. ZupanJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.10th Edition, Copyright 2009PowerPoint prepared by Della L. Sue, Marist College

Chapter 10: Using the Competitive Model

Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2

Learning Objectives

Show how changes in market conditions or government policies affect the welfare of consumers, producers, and market participants as a whole.

Analyze the effects of an excise tax on a specific good on the welfare of consumers, producers, and market participants as a whole.

Detail how regulation of the U.S. airline industry affected fares, airline company profits, and service quality.

(continued)


Learning Objectives (continued)

Explain how the entry restrictions imposed by most major U.S. cities on taxis affects fares and the profits earned by licensed taxi owners.

Understand the effects of international trade on consumer and producer surplus and why a net gain results to a country from either imports or exports.

Explore how government-specified maximum quantities, or quotas, on sugar imports affect consumers, domestic producers, and the net welfare of the United States as well as other countries that produce sugar.


The Evaluation of Gains and Losses

Consumer surplus – a measure of the net gain to a consumer or group of consumers from purchasing a good arising from cost being below the maximum that consumers are willing to pay

Producer surplus – gains to producers from the sale of output to consumers, arising from price exceeding the minimum necessary to compensate the seller.


Producer Surplus [Figure 10.1]


Consumer Surplus, Producer Surplus, and Efficient Output

Total surplus – the sum of producer and consumer surplus

Efficiency in output – the condition in which output is expanded to the point where marginal benefit equals marginal cost


Competition Maximizes Total Surplus [Figure 10.2]


The Deadweight Loss of a Price Ceiling

Deadweight loss – also called welfare cost, a measure of the aggregate loss in well-being of participants in a market resulting from an inefficient output level


A Price Ceiling Reduces Total Surplus [Figure 10.3]


Excise Taxation

Excise tax – a tax levied on a specific goodPer unit tax: does not depend on the market

priceAd valorem tax: an excise tax that is levied

as a certain percentage of the market price


Effects of a Per-Unit Excise Tax [Figure 10.4]


The Consequences of an Excise Tax

Short-Run EffectsFirms reduce output.Market price rises.

Long-Run EffectsEven when the tax is levied on and

collected from firms, consumers bear a cost as a result of the higher price.

After the long-run adjustment to the tax, firms make zero economic profits.


How Elasticities Affect the Tax Burden [Figure 10.5]


Who Bears the Burden of the Tax?

When an excise tax is imposed on a good, elasticity determines how much output falls and how much the price to consumers rises.

For a given demand curve and tax per unit, the more inelastic the supply curve:

the smaller is the tax burden on consumers the larger is the tax burden on producers the smaller is the output reduction

For a given supply curve and tax per unit, the more inelastic the demand curve:

the greater is the tax burden on consumers the smaller is the tax burden on producers the smaller is the reduction in output


When the Consumer Bears the Entire Burden of the Tax Situations of extreme elasticity:

If the demand is perfectly inelastic, the demand curve is vertical.

If the supply curve is perfectly elastic, the supply curve is horizontal, which is the constant-cost case.

In both cases, the price to consumers rises by the

amount of the tax.


The Deadweight Loss of Excise Taxation

Excess burden – another name for the deadweight loss produced by a tax

Figure 10.6


The Deadweight Loss of Rent Control [Figure 10.7]


Airline Regulation and Deregulation

1938-1978: period of regulation in the airline industry by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB)

Factors that were regulated: Fares Routes between 2 cities Entry of new firms into the industry

Support for deregulation: Fares were set above the market equilibrium fare. Accounting profits for the airline industry were below

the national average for all industries over the 20 years prior to deregulation in 1978.


Airline Profitability Under CAB Regulation [Figure 10.8]


The Airline Industry After Deregulation

Since the domestic airline industry was deregulated, several changes have occurred: The cost of air travel to consumers has fallen. A major restructuring of the industry has taken

place. New entrants into the industry have been able to

operate at lower costs than the established carriers.

Air service to small communities has increased but fares have also gone up.


The Contestability of Airline Markets

Contestable markets – markets in which competition is so perfect that the market price is independent of the number of firms currently serving a market, because the mere possibility of entry suffices to discipline the actions of incumbent suppliers.


Results of Airline Deregulation

Concerns after deregulation:Greater congestion at airports Issues of airline safety

Possible solutions:Re-regulationExpand airport capacity Implement peak-load pricing


City Taxicab Markets

Medallion – a city-issued taxi license; fixed supply

Results include higher fares and lower output than under unregulated conditions

Illegal markets in transportation services develop

Figure 10.9


Consumer and Producer Surplus, and the Net Gains from Trade [Figure 10.10]


The Gains from International Trade

[Figure 10.11]


The Link Between Imports and Exports

Both nations are better off from trading. When nations trade, one country’s imports are

the other country’s exports. When the U.S. imports goods from the rest of

the world, the dollars used to pay international suppliers for those goods come back to the U.S. economy in the form of international demand for U.S. exports.


Government Intervention in Markets: Quantity Controls

Quotas – government-imposed maximum quantities of goods

Application: sugar import quota in the United States

Effect of quotas: Deadweight loss occurs Markets of related products are affected Price differentials between countries arise in

the regulated market


The Sugar Import Quota [Figure 10.12]


Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted in section 117 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without express permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Request for further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The purchaser may make back-up copies for his/her own use only and not for distribution or resale. The Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages caused by the use of these programs or from the use of the information herein.

MICROECONOMICS: Theory & Applications By Edgar K. Browning & Mark A. Zupan John Wiley & Sons, Inc....

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