00:01
So here we have a with what's called an externality, right? we have this story about the paper mills are going to affect the downstream production of hydropower.
00:14
So let me draw the market for two things here, quantity, price, paper, right? and then we have quantity and price of hydro, right? hydropower.
00:30
So again, as always, we have supply equals marginal cost, demand equals marginal benefit, right? demand equals marginal benefit, supply equals marginal cost.
00:41
But here we have an externality, right? the externality is that the production of paper causes damages, right? you've got this social marginal cost is greater than the marginal cost, right? and this social marginal cost, right? and this social marginal cost is affecting this private marginal cost, right? this includes cleanup because the cleanup costs here are paid by the hydroelectric operator.
01:14
So in the free market, right, the optimal level of production is greater than the market level of production.
01:24
So when the government fixes the externality problem, they're going to reduce the production of paper or otherwise force the production of paper to clean up its act.
01:35
Right.
01:35
So the normal way to do that would be, for example, through a tax or a cap and trade scheme or, you know, forcing them to invest in cleanup technology.
01:45
So when we fix the, let's say by taxing the power company or, you know, we can say, let's say we tax the power company or tax the people who buy paper, we reduce the quantity...