1. To comply with the Clean Air Act, a region must abate (reduce) pollution emissions by 300 units. Before regulation, two firms emit 600 units of pollutants. The marginal abatement cost (MAC) of firm A is given by MACA = .5QA where QA is the quantity of pollution abated by the firm. The MAC for firm B is MACB = QB
a. Suppose the EPA requires each firm to abate by 150 units. What is the MAC for each firm under this command and control regulation? Is it the least-cost allocation of abatement? What is the total cost of this policy?
b. What is the least cost (efficient) allocation of abatement between the two firms? What is the reduction in abatement cost relative to command and control regulation?
c. Suppose the EPA auctions off 300 pollution permits at a competitive auction. Each permit allows a firm to pollute by one unit. What is the market price of these permits?
2. A pulp mill has the right to discharge waste into a river. The waste reduces the number of fish, causing damage for recreational fishing. Let Q denote the quantity of waste dumped. The marginal damage (value of lost fish for an extra unit of waste) denoted MD is
MD = 2 + 5Q.
The marginal benefit (MB) of dumping waste (the cost of shipping an extra unit of waste to another dump site) is given by the equation
MB = 30 - 2Q.
a. Draw a diagram showing the efficient quantity of waste that can be dumped in the river, and the quantity dumped by a firm that ignores the damages it causes for fishing.
b. Calculate the efficient quantity of waste. What is the effluent fee in dollars per unit of waste that would cause the firm to dump only an efficient quantity of waste?
3. Warrenia has two regions. In Oliviland, the marginal benefit associated with pollution cleanup is MB = 300 - 10Q, while in Linneland, the marginal benefit associated withpollution cleanup is MB = 200 - 4Q. Suppose that the marginal cost of cleanup is constant at $12 per unit. What is the optimal level of pollution cleanup in each of the two regions?
4. The private marginal benefit associated with a product's consumption is PMB = 360 -4Q and the private marginal cost associated with its production is PMC = 6Q. Furthermore,the marginal external damage associated with this good's production is MD = 2Q. To correct the externality, the government decides to impose a tax of T per unit sold. What tax T should it set to achieve the social optimum?
5. Suppose that demand for a product is Q = 1,200 - 4P and supply is Q = -200 + 2P.Furthermore, suppose that the marginal external damage of this product is $8 per unit. How many more units of this product will the free market produce than is socially optimal? Calculate the deadweight loss associated with the externality.
6. The marginal damage averted from pollution cleanup is MD = 200 - 5Q. The marginal cost associated with pollution cleanup is MC = 10 + Q.
a. What is the optimal level of pollution reduction?
b. Show that this level of pollution reduction could be accomplished through taxation. What tax per unit would generate the optimal amount of pollution reduction?
7. FirmsA and B each produce 80 units of pollution. The federal government wants toreduce pollution levels. The marginal costs associated with pollution reduction are MCA= 50 + 3QAfor firm A and MCB= 20 + 6QBfor firm B, where QAand QBare the quantities of pollution reduced by each firm. Society's marginal benefit from pollution reduction is given by MB = 590 - 3Qtot, where Qtotis the total reduction in pollution.
a. What is the socially optimal level of each firm's pollution reduction?
b. How much total pollution is there in the social optimum?
c. Explain why it is inefficient to give each firm an equal number of pollution permits(if they are not allowed to trade them).
d. Explain how the social optimum can be achieved if firms are given equal numbersof pollution permits but are allowed to trade them.
e. Can the social optimum be achieved using a tax on pollution?