In an election debate, two candidates for governorare debating about whether to raise the generalsales tax from 5 to 7 percent. One argues that thiswould increase tax revenues, enabling the stateto maintain essential services. The other arguesthat the tax would hurt retailers and consumers,and would actually slow down the economy somuch that it would decrease tax revenues too.Restate these candidates’ positions in economicterminology, and explain what assumptions theymust be making in order to justify their differentpositions, in terms of price and quantity effects

In an election debate, two candidates for governorare debating about whether to raise the generalsales tax from 5 to 7 percent. One argues that thiswould increase tax revenues, enabling the stateto maintain essential services. The other arguesthat the tax would hurt retailers and consumers,and would actually slow down the economy somuch that it would decrease tax revenues too.Restate these candidates’ positions in economicterminology, and explain what assumptions theymust be making in order to justify their differentpositions, in terms of price and quantity effects

Principles of Microeconomics

7th Edition

ISBN:9781305156050

Author:N. Gregory Mankiw

Publisher:N. Gregory Mankiw

Chapter22: Frontiers Of Microeconomics

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 6PA

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Suppose there was a debate regarding how to spend $1 billion in newly found revenues in the budget. Suppose the most liberal Democrat suggests an increase to Food Stamp (SNAP) allotments. Suppose the most conservative Republican suggests an increase in defense spending. The Republican says that, on average, military spending does the most good, so more is better. The Democrat is arguing that the extra food purchased by the extra spending will increase well-being the most. What is going on here? A . Both are employing marginal analysis, just from different perspectives. B. Only the Democrat is using marginal analysis. C. Only the Republican is using marginal analysis. D. Neither are using marginal analysis.
In 1989, Senator Bob Packwood asked Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation how much extra revenue the government would raise if it just started taxing 100% of all income over $200,000 per year. The Joint Committee crunched some numbers and reported an answer: $204 billion per year. a. What is wrong with this answer? In 1989, very few people made over $200,000 a year, so the estimate of the tax revenue is far too high. Increasing government spending by $204 billion each year would have generated economic growth, and subsequently even higher amounts of tax revenues. The Joint Committee on Taxation did not have the tools needed to make such an estimate accurately. No one would have an incentive to work once they had earned $200,000, so much of the taxable income would disappear.
4. a. Consider a consumer with preferences defined over x and y. Demonstrate that it is possible theywould choose to consume some of both commodities when their income is I but would choose toconsume only x when their income is I’ > I. (Remember: if you can draw it without violating anyof the basic assumptions on preferences, it could happen.) b. Conversely, demonstrate that it is possible they would choose to consume only x when theirincome is I but would choose to consume x and y when their income is I’ > I.c. Finally, show it is possible that they would choose to consume only y when their income is I butwould choose to consume only x when their income is I’ > I.
A researcher gave sports-card traders a sports card in exchange for their participation in thestudy. There were two possible cards, A and B. Each participant randomly received one ofthe two cards, and was then asked whether she would like to exchange it for the other card.a) By neoclassical (traditional economics) logic, approximately what percentage ofparticipants should exchange? Why? (Hint, the reason does not depend on whetherthe two cards are of equal value.)b) Among inexperienced traders, 6.8% make the exchange. Explain this phenomenon using prospect theory.c) Among experienced traders, 46.7% make the exchange. Why might experiencedtraders behave differently from inexperienced ones?
You found your utility preference given by U (w, d) = w√d where w is your wage, and d is the amountof noise (ie - decibels) you must listen to at your job. Let’s assume you have the option to workat home in silence (where d = 36), in a cubicle office (where d = 64), or in an open-air sharedworkspace (where d = 100). Further assume the economy is in equilibrium, and you do not haveincentive to change jobs.(a) Assuming working at home gives you a wage of $100, what would your wage be working in thecubicle office? In the shared workspace?(b) What is the compensating wage differential between these jobs?(c) Explain why the wage is different in each situation, and give an example of another indus-try/situation with a compensating wage differential.
The government of the island nation of Autarka has become increasingly concerned aboutthe health and wellbeing of low income households. Medical experts stress the importanceof a healthy diet in this regard. They have determined that, ideally, a household wouldconsume at least 5kg of fresh fruit and vegetables each week.The government has proposed implementing a new voucher scheme to ensure that the5kg per week consumption target is met. Under the government’s proposal, the voucherswould be redeemable for fresh fruit and vegetables, but could not be used for other typesof food, or for non-food consumption. Moreover, to limit the cost of the voucher scheme,the value of the vouchers sent to a household would be linked to the household’s income.Community groups in Autarka have expressed concern that a voucher scheme is unnec-essarily paternalistic; depriving low income households of the choice of how to spend theirincome. These groups argue that the government’s consumption targets could…
True/false, no need to explain. (a) There is no perfect way to aggregate individual preferences to a single "social" preferences (b) “Before enacting a policy, try to put ourself in the shoes of those who will be negatively impacted mostly.” This sentence is best to summarise the Benthamite welfare function (c) If a person's utility is simply a function of her own consumption, and the welfare function is derived from individuals utility function, then we will not have consumption externalities. (d) An allocation cannot be both equitable and Pareto efficient.
Willa and Lora are playing the dictator game. Let ww and wL be the amount of money Willa and Lora receive in the game, respectively. Willa plays the role of the dictator and must decide how to split $10. Suppose Willa’s preferences are given by U(ww,wL)=ww (second letters are subscripts). How much will Willa keep and how much will she give to Lora? Explain your answer in one or two sentences. Suppose instead that Willa’s preferences are given by U(ww,wL)=min(ww,wL). (second letters are subscripts) . How much will Willa keep and how much will she give to Lora? Explain your answer in one or two sentences.
If an economy can produce various combinationsof food and shelter along a productionpossibilities curve (PPC), then if we increase theproduction of shelter along the PPC, which ofthe following is true?a. We also increase the production of food.b. We must decrease the production of food.This forgone food production representsthe opportunity cost of the increase inshelter.c. We cannot change the production of food.d. The concept of opportunity cost does notapply along PPC.
a) Suppose demand for good X is given by QD = 900- p/2 where p is the price and QD the quantity demanded. Supply is given by QS = p/4. Suppose 60 TL tax is imposed on each unit of X that is purchased. What is the burden of the tax? Explain the key factors that determine the incidence of the tax. b) Describe the main differences between partial and general equilibrium analysis in the context of examining tax incidence.
Mylie’s total utility from singing the same song over andover is 50 utils after one repetition, 90 utils after tworepetitions, 70 utils after three repetitions, 20 utils afterfour repetitions, 250 utils after five repetitions, and 2200utils after six repetitions. Write down her marginal utilityfor each repetition. Once Mylie’s total utility beginsto decrease, does each additional singing of the songhurt more than the previous one or less than the previousone?
Jackie moved to Spain to work for a public relations firm. She had health insurance from herprevious employer, but she was surprised to learn that her new employer in Spain did notoffer healthcare coverage. When she asked about this, she was told that more than 90percent of Spaniards use the public healthcare system, which was mostly free. However,her new employer did provide supplementary private health insurance that would allow herto receive quicker care from a private hospital if she desired.Jackie learned that she would be paying 4.7 percent of her salary and her employerwould pay 23.6 percent of her salary to the government for health insurance. She was given a Tarjeta Sanitaria Individual health card to prove that she had health insurance. With this,she could get free care at public hospitals and doctors’ offices. However, before seeing adoctor, she would need to register with a local primary care physician and decide whethershe would use public or private payment. If she needed…