Table 4 The following table shows the marginal costs for each of four firms (A, B, C, and D) to eliminate units of pollution from their production processes. For example, for Firm A to eliminate one unit of pollution, it would cost $54, and for Firm A to eliminate a second unit of pollution it would cost an additional $67. Firm Unit to be eliminated D First unit 54 57 54 62 Second unit 67 68 66 73 Third unit 82 86 82 91 Fourth unit 107 108 107 111 Refer to Table 4. If the government charged a fee of $84 per unit of pollution, how many units of pollution would the firms eliminate altogether?

Table 4 The following table shows the marginal costs for each of four firms (A, B, C, and D) to eliminate units of pollution from their production processes. For example, for Firm A to eliminate one unit of pollution, it would cost $54, and for Firm A to eliminate a second unit of pollution it would cost an additional $67. Firm Unit to be eliminated D First unit 54 57 54 62 Second unit 67 68 66 73 Third unit 82 86 82 91 Fourth unit 107 108 107 111 Refer to Table 4. If the government charged a fee of $84 per unit of pollution, how many units of pollution would the firms eliminate altogether?

Principles of Economics 2e

2nd Edition

ISBN:9781947172364

Author:Steven A. Greenlaw; David Shapiro

Publisher:Steven A. Greenlaw; David Shapiro

Chapter12: Environmental Protection And Negative Externalities

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 12SCQ: Consider the case of global environmental problems that spill across international borders as a...

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What is a pollution charge and what incentive does it provide for a firm to take external costs into account?
Refer to Table 12.2. The externality created by the refrigerator production was 100. However, once we accounted for both the private and additional external costs, the market price increased by only 50. If the external costs were 100 why did the price only increase by 50 when we accounted for all costs?
A city currently emits 15 million gallons (MG) of raw sewage into a lake that is beside the city. Table 12.13 shows the total costs (TC) in thousands of dollars of cleaning up the sewage to different levels, together with the total benefits (TB) of doing so. Benefits include environmental, recreational, health, and industrial benefits. Using the information in Table 12.13 calculate the marginal costs and marginal benefits of reducing sewage emissions for this City. What is the optimal level of sewage for this city? How can you tell?
How can high-income countries benefit from covering much of the cost of reducing pollution created by low-income countries?
Consider the case of global environmental problems that spill across international borders as a prisoners dilemma of the sort studied in Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly. Say that there are two countries, A and B. Each country can cheese whether to protect the environment, at a cost of 10, or not to protect it, at a cost of zero. If one country decides to protect the environment, there is a benefit of 16, but the benefit is divided equally between the two countries. If both countries decide to protect the environment, there is a benefit of 32, which is divided equally between the two centuries. In Table 12.10, fill in the costs, benefits, and total payoffs to the countries of the following decisions. Explain why, without some international agreement, they are likely to end up with neither country acting to protect the environment.
A country called Sherwood is very heavily covered with a forest of 50,000 trees. There are proposals to clear some of Sherwoods forest and grow com, but obtaining this additional economic output will have an environmental cost from reducing the number of trees. Table 12.11 shows possible combinations of economic output and environmental protection. Sketch a graph of a production possibility frontier with environmental quality on the horizontal axis, measured by the number of trees, and the quantity of economic output, measured in corn, on the vertical axis. Which choices display productive efficiency? How can you tell? Which choices show allocative efficiency? How can you tell? In the choice between T and R, decide which one is better. Why? In the choice between T and S, can you say which one is better, and why? If you had to guess, which choice would you think is more likely to represent a command-and-control environmental policy and which choice is more likely to represent a market-oriented environmental policy, choice Q or S? Why?
Table 12.12, shows the supply and demand conditions for a firm that will play trumpets on the streets when requested. QS1 is the quantity supplied without social costs. QS2 is the quantity supplied with social costs. What is the negative externality in this situation? Identify the equilibrium price and quantity when we account only for private costs, and then when we account for social costs. How does accounting for the externality affect the equilibrium price and quantity?
In the Land of Purity, there is only one form of pollution, called gunk. Table 12.14 shows possible combinations of economic output and reduction of gunk, depending on what kinds of environmental regulations you choose. Sketch a graph of a production possibility frontier with environmental quality on the horizontal axis, measured by the percentage reduction of gunk, and with the quantity of economic output on the vertical axis. Which choices display productive efficiency? How can you tell? Which choices show allocative efficiency? How can you tell? In the choice between K and L, can you say which one is better and why? In the choice between K. and N, can you say which one is better, and why? If you had to guess, which choice would you think is move likely to represent a command-and-control environmental policy and which choice is more likely to represent a market-oriented environmental policy, choice L or M? Why?
Suppose you want to put a dollar value on the external costs of carbon emissions from a power plant. What information or data would you obtain to measure the external [not social] cost?
Suppose a city releases 16 million gallons of raw sewage into a nearby lake. Table 12.8 shows the total costs of cleaning up the sewage to different levels, together with the total benefits of doing so. (Benefits include environmental, recreational, health, and industrial benefits.) Using the information in Table 12.8, calculate the marginal costs and marginal benefits of reducing sewage emissions for this city. See Production, Costs and Industry Structure if you need a refresher on how to calculate marginal costs. What is the optimal level of sewage for this city? Why not just pass a law that films can emit zero sewage? After all, the total benefits of zero emissions exceed the total costs.
Is zero pollution possible under a marketable permits system? Why or why not?
What is a marketable permit and what incentive does it provide for a firm to account for external costs?