Consider a government that raises money in a two-good economy by taxing good 1 at a rate of t per unit. The government is considering replacing these taxes with a lump-sum tax to the consumer that raises the same revenue. Thus, if the consumer consumes 2 units of good 1 before the change in taxes, she must pay the government a lump sum of te after the change. Suppose, moreover, that prices change only by the amount of the tax; i.e., if prices are (p₁+t, p2) before the change, then they become (p₁, p2) after. Let x = (1, ₂) be the consumer's demand before the change, and z' = (₁, ₂) the consumer's demand after. Suppose that x = x¹. (a) Is one of r or a' revealed preferred to the other (and if so, which)? Solution: The budget constraint before the change is (p₁+t)ã1+prỡ2 ≤ w and after the change is piã₁ + P2Ã2 ≤ w− tx₁. Since x = = (1, 2) satisfies the first budget constraint,

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Chapter6: Supply, Demand And Government Policies
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Consider a government that raises money in a two-good economy by taxing good 1 at a rate
of t per unit. The government is considering replacing these taxes with a lump-sum tax
to the consumer that raises the same revenue. Thus, if the consumer consumes a units of
good 1 before the change in taxes, she must pay the government a lump sum of te after
the change. Suppose, moreover, that prices change only by the amount of the tax; i.e., if
prices are (p₁ +t, p2) before the change, then they become (p₁, p2) after. Let z = = (1, ₂) be
the consumer's demand before the change, and r' = (₁, 2) the consumer's demand after.
Suppose that xx¹.
(a) Is one of r or a' revealed preferred to the other (and if so, which)?
Solution: The budget constraint before the change is (p₁+t)ã₁+p22 ≤ w and after the
change is p₁₁+p2₂Ã2 ≤ w− tx₁. Since x = (x1,x2) satisfies the first budget constraint,
it must also satisfy the second one. Hence r is affordable after the change when x' is
chosen. Therefore, r' is revealed preferred to 2. Depending on the choices, x may or
may not be revealed preferred to r'; it is impossible to determine.
(b) Assuming that the consumer's demand satisfies the Weak Axiom of Revealed Preference,
does the change in taxes lead to an increase or decrease in consumption of Good 1, or is
it impossible to determine? What about Good 2?
Solution: The first coordinate of the point of intersection of the budget lines under
the two regimes is exactly r₁. Therefore, any bundle with less than ₁ of Good 1 that is
affordable under the lump-sum tar is also affordable under the per unit tax. Since (x1, x₂)
is chosen under the per unit tax, WARP implies that r₁ > x₁, i.e. the change leads to an
increase in consumption of Good 1. If the choices also lie on the corresponding budget
lines, then this implies a decrease in consumption of Good 2. In general, however, the
effect on consumption of Good 2 is impossible to determine.
Transcribed Image Text:Consider a government that raises money in a two-good economy by taxing good 1 at a rate of t per unit. The government is considering replacing these taxes with a lump-sum tax to the consumer that raises the same revenue. Thus, if the consumer consumes a units of good 1 before the change in taxes, she must pay the government a lump sum of te after the change. Suppose, moreover, that prices change only by the amount of the tax; i.e., if prices are (p₁ +t, p2) before the change, then they become (p₁, p2) after. Let z = = (1, ₂) be the consumer's demand before the change, and r' = (₁, 2) the consumer's demand after. Suppose that xx¹. (a) Is one of r or a' revealed preferred to the other (and if so, which)? Solution: The budget constraint before the change is (p₁+t)ã₁+p22 ≤ w and after the change is p₁₁+p2₂Ã2 ≤ w− tx₁. Since x = (x1,x2) satisfies the first budget constraint, it must also satisfy the second one. Hence r is affordable after the change when x' is chosen. Therefore, r' is revealed preferred to 2. Depending on the choices, x may or may not be revealed preferred to r'; it is impossible to determine. (b) Assuming that the consumer's demand satisfies the Weak Axiom of Revealed Preference, does the change in taxes lead to an increase or decrease in consumption of Good 1, or is it impossible to determine? What about Good 2? Solution: The first coordinate of the point of intersection of the budget lines under the two regimes is exactly r₁. Therefore, any bundle with less than ₁ of Good 1 that is affordable under the lump-sum tar is also affordable under the per unit tax. Since (x1, x₂) is chosen under the per unit tax, WARP implies that r₁ > x₁, i.e. the change leads to an increase in consumption of Good 1. If the choices also lie on the corresponding budget lines, then this implies a decrease in consumption of Good 2. In general, however, the effect on consumption of Good 2 is impossible to determine.
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