Exam 11: Public Goods and Common Resources

Private companies will invest in medical research if

A cheeseburger is a

Table 11-2 Consider a small town with only three families, the Greene family, the Brown family, and the Black family. The town does not currently have any streetlights so it is very dark at night. The three families are considering putting in streetlights on Main Street and are trying to determine how many lights to install. The table below shows each family's willingness to pay for each streetlight. -Refer to Table 11-2. Suppose the cost to install each streetlight is $900 and the families have agreed to split the cost of the streetlights equally. If the families vote to determine the number of streetlights to install, basing their decision solely on their own willingness to pay (and trying to maximize their own surplus), what is the greatest number of streetlights for which the majority of families would vote "yes?"

Scenario 11-2 Consider the following goods: • fire-protection services provided by a fire department • a beautiful mural on the outside wall of a fire station • a firefighter's helmet -Refer to Scenario 11-2. Which of these goods is the best example of a private good? Briefly explain.

On hot summer days, electricity-generating capacity is sometimes stretched to the limit. At these times, electric companies may ask people to voluntarily cut back on their use of electricity. An economist would suggest that

Suppose that everyone prefers to live in a society without poverty. Further suppose that some private charities are successful in reducing poverty. People who do not contribute to the charities

Table 11-6 Consider the city of Widgetapolis with only four residents, John, James, Mary, and Lydia. The four residents are trying to determine how many hours to spend in cleaning up the public lake. The table below shows each resident's willingness to pay for each hour of cleaning. ​ ​ -Refer to Table 11-6. Suppose the cost of cleaning the lake is $40 per hour, and that the residents have agreed to split the cost of cleaning the lake equally. If the residents vote to determine the number of hours spent cleaning the lake, basing their decision solely on what maximizes their own surplus, what is the most number of hours for which all four residents would vote "yes?"

Table 11-6 Consider the city of Widgetapolis with only four residents, John, James, Mary, and Lydia. The four residents are trying to determine how many hours to spend in cleaning up the public lake. The table below shows each resident's willingness to pay for each hour of cleaning. ​ ​ -Refer to Table 11-6. Suppose the cost of cleaning the lake is $20 per hour, and that the residents have agreed to split the cost of cleaning the lake equally. If the residents vote to determine the number of hours spent cleaning the lake, basing their decision solely on what maximizes their own surplus, what is the most number of hours for which all four residents would vote "yes?"

Some goods can be classified as either public goods or private goods depending on the circumstances.

In deciding whether a good is a public good, one must determine the

Miguel, Maria, and Marcos all would like a place to sit while waiting at their children's bus stop. The neighborhood association is considering installing several park benches at the bus stop. Miguel values the benches at $20, Maria at $30, and Marcos at $40. The park benches and labor for installation cost $100. If Miguel, Maria, and Marcos are the only residents who value the benches, what should the neighborhood association do?

Table 11-5 A small island off the coast of Cape Cod contains two restaurants and two retail stores. Tourists need to take a ferry boat to reach the island, but with a recent slowdown in the economy, tourists are less willing to pay for the boat ride to visit the island. The owners of the restaurants and stores on the island - Restaurants 1 and 2, and Stores A and B - think that if tourists could ride the ferry for free, they would be happy to visit the island, eat and shop. The business owners are considering contributing to a pool of money that will be used to pay for roundtrip ferry service each day. The table represents their willingness to pay, that is, the maximum amount that each business owner is willing to contribute, per day, to pay for each ferry trip. -Refer to Table 11-5. Suppose the cost to run the ferry for each roundtrip is $1,000. How many ferry trips should there be to maximize the total surplus of the four business owners?

Figure 11-1 -Refer to Figure 11-1. The box labeled B represents

In which of the following examples are property rights not well established?

Imagine a 2,000-acre park with picnic benches, trees, and a pond. Suppose it is publicly owned, and people are invited to enjoy its beauty. When the weather is nice, it is difficult to find parking on summer afternoons. Otherwise, it is a great place. An efficient solution to the parking problem would be to

Governments can grant private property rights over resources that were previously viewed as public, such as fish or elephants. Why would governments want to do so?

A textbook is a

The Tragedy of the Commons for sheep grazing on common land can be eliminated by the government doing each of the following except

Government agencies, such as the National Science Foundation, subsidize basic research because in the absence of a subsidy too little research would be conducted.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of government provision of a public good?