Essentials of Economics 7th Edition by Gregory Mankiw

Exercise 6

At Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, seating is limited to 34,000. Hence, the number of tickets issued is fixed at that figure. (Assume that all seats are equally desirable and are sold at the same price.) Seeing a golden opportunity to raise revenue, the City of Boston levies a per ticket tax of $5 to be paid by the ticket buyer. Boston sports fans, a famously civic-minded lot, dutifully send in the $5 per ticket. Draw a well labeled graph showing the impact of the tax. On whom does the tax burden fall-the team's owners, the fans, or both? Why?