Suppose that there are only two fisherman, Zach and Jacob, who fish along a certain were built along the coast. They would each benefit if lighthouses were built along the coast where they fish. The marginal cost of building each additional lighthouse is $100. The marginal benefit to Zach of each additional lighthouse is 90-Q, and the marginal benefit to Jacob is 40-Q, where Q equals the number of lighthouses.   a. Explain why we might not expect to find the efficient number of lighthouses along this coast.   b. What is the efficient number of lighthouses? What would be the net benefits to Zach and Jacob if the efficient number were provided?

Principles of Microeconomics
7th Edition
ISBN:9781305156050
Author:N. Gregory Mankiw
Publisher:N. Gregory Mankiw
Chapter11: Public Goods And Common Resources
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Suppose that there are only two fisherman, Zach and Jacob, who fish along a certain were built along the coast. They would each benefit if lighthouses were built along the coast where they fish. The marginal cost of building each additional lighthouse is $100. The marginal benefit to Zach of each additional lighthouse is 90-Q, and the marginal benefit to Jacob is 40-Q, where Q equals the number of lighthouses.

 

a. Explain why we might not expect to find the efficient number of lighthouses along this coast.

 

b. What is the efficient number of lighthouses? What would be the net benefits to Zach and Jacob if the efficient number were provided?

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