Book cover for Economics

Economics

Michael Parkin

ISBN #9780133872279

12th Edition

839 Questions

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Summary

Learning Objectives

Key Concepts

Example Problems

Explanations

Common Mistakes

Summary

This section covers the different methods for allocating scarce resources, ranging from market price mechanisms to more arbitrarily assigned methods such as lotteries and first-come, first-served. It emphasizes that while competitive markets tend to be efficient—maximizing total surplus through the equality of marginal social benefit and cost—they may not always address fairness. Several real-world examples, including price gouging and congestion pricing, illustrate the balance and tradeoffs between efficiency and equity in resource allocation. Understanding consumer surplus, producer surplus, and deadweight loss is crucial for evaluating the performance and fairness of different allocation methods.

Learning Objectives

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Key Concepts

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Example Problems

Example 1

At Chez Panisse, a restaurant in Berkeley, reservations are essential. At Mandarin Dynasty, a restaurant near the University of California San Diego, reservations are recommended. At Eli Cannon's, a restaurant in Middletown, Connecticut, reservations are not accepted. Describe the method of allocating scarce table resources at these three restaurants. Why do you think restaurants don't use the market price to allocate their tables?

Example 2

Use the following table to work. The table gives the demand schedules for train travel for the only buyers in the market, Ann, Beth, and Cy. a. Construct the market demand schedule. b. What is the maximum price that each traveler is willing to pay to travel 20 miles? Why?

Example 3

Use the following table to work. The table gives the demand schedules for train travel for the only buyers in the market, Ann, Beth, and Cy. a. What is the marginal social benefit when the total distance traveled is 60 miles? b. When the total distance traveled is 60 miles, how many miles does each travel and what is their marginal private benefit?

Example 4

Use the following table to work. The table gives the demand schedules for train travel for the only buyers in the market, Ann, Beth, and Cy. What is each traveler's consumer surplus when the price is $\$ 4$ a mile? What is the market consumer surplus when the price is $\$ 4$ a mile?

Example 5

Use the table in the next column to work. The table gives the supply schedules of the only sellers of hot air balloon rides: Xavier, Yasmin, and Zack. a. Construct the market supply schedule. b. What are the minimum prices that Xavier, Yasmin, and Zack are willing to accept to supply 20 rides? Why?

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Step-by-Step Explanations

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Common Mistakes

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