3 Externalities
3 Externalities
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3. EXTERNALITIES:
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person who generates the economic activity. For instance, it is the total satisfaction derived by the
consumers or the profits earned by the private producers.
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Indeed, §when a private firm carries out production, it does consider only its private costs and private
benefits.
EXTERNALITIES: c
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Externalities are said to exist when the action of producers or consumers affects not only
themselves but also third parties and no compensation is provided to or paid by those who generate
externalities. In other words, an externality is a situation where the production (or consumption) of a
good directly affects the production (or the utility derived by the consumers) of another good.
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The price system (market prices) does not reflect all the costs and benefits of an action to the
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society as a whole. In other words, externalities create a divergence between private and social costs and
benefits. Because externalities are not reflected in market prices, these prices provide misleading
information for an optimal allocation of resources. Externalities can be either negative (undesirable) or
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positive (desirable). Whenever other people are affected beneficially, there are said to be external
benefits. On the other hand, whenever other people are affected adversely, there said to be external
costs.
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congestion, the noise, etc...
Social cost represents the full cost to society. It includes private costs and external costs. In fact,
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social cost measures the best alternative use of resources that is available to the whole society. In other
words, for the society's point of view, the price system must take into account both private costs «and
external costs.
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Social cost (SC) = Private costs (PC) + External costs (EC)
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In marginal terms (when each additional unit of good is produced),
Marginal Social Costs (MSC) = Marginal Private Costs (MPC) + Marginal External Costs (MEC)
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External benefit arises when social benefit exceeds private benefit. It refers to the benefit from
production (or consumption) experienced by people other than the producer (or consumer). Usually
when a private firm produces goods and services, it leads not only to a private benefit to the \iser, but
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also an external benefit (benefit to the non-users). For example, imagine a bus company that spends
money training its bus drivers. Each year some workers leave to work for other companies. The latter
benefit without incurring additional cost of training. External benefit can also occur in consumption, for
example, when people travel by train rather than by car, other people benefit by there being less
congestion and exhaust and fewer accidents on the roads.
Social benefit refers to, the full benefit to society from consumption and production of any good.
From the society's point of view, the price system must consider both private benefit and external
benefit.
Social benefit (SB) = Private benefit (PB) + External benefit (EB)
In marginal terms (when each additional unit of good is produced),
Marginal Social benefit (MSB) =Marginal Private benefit (MPB) + Marginal External benefit (MEB)
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As noted, the price system considers only private costs and private benefits, and ignores any
external costs and benefit. Hence, private producers produce too much of commodities that generate
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harmful externalities because they bear none of the costs suffered by others. In other words, external
costs result in a level of output greater than the social optimum. This can be illustrated as follows:
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The MPC curve represents the supply curve of the industry, and assumes no external benefit,
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MSB is also the MPB and the demand curve for the industry. As the private producers reaches
equilibrium where Demand = Supply (consider only their private costs and private benefits), the
equilibrium output of the industry id thus 0QE. MSC lies above MPC as MSC includes both MPC and
MEC. The socially optimum output would be 0Qs, where MSB = MSC. Thus, in terms of socially
efficiency, there is an overproduction of goods which generate negative externalities. By summing the
excess of MSB and MSC for the units between Qs and Qe, a monetary measure of the welfare loss to
society is occurred (shaded area).
In the same sense, activities which generate positive externalities can also bring welfare loss.
Private producers will tend to produce too little of commodities that generate beneficial externalities
because they bear all the costs, while others reap part of the benefits. This is illustrated as follows:
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The MSB is greater than the MPB since there are external benefits. The socially optimum level
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of output is OQs which is above the equilibrium output that would occur in an "uncorrectecf' free-
market, 0QE. In other words, when there are positive externalities, there is a tendency for
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underproduction of the product in question. The shaded area shows the welfare loss brought by
underproduction.
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From the above expose, it can be deduced that whenever there are external benefits, there will be
too little produced or consumed. On the other hand, whenever, there are external costs, there will be too
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much produced or consumed. The market will not equate marginal social benefit and marginal social
cost.
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When there are imperfections in the market, social efficiency will not be achieved. Marginal
social benefit will not equal marginal social cost. A different level of output would be more desirable.
Hence, the government has a number of instruments it can use to change the way markets operate. These
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The firm produces output 0QE where MPC = MPB (demand = supply), and in doing so, it takes
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no account of the external pollution costs it imposes on society. If the government imposes a tax on
production equal to the Marginal pollution cost (MEC), it will effectively internalise the externality. The
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firm will have to pay an amount equal to the external costs it creates. It will, therefore, now maximise
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profit at OQs, which is the socially optimum output where MSB = MSC.
Similarly, in the case of positive externality, the government has to grant subsidies equal to the
MEB. This can be illustrated as follows:
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Consider the demand and supply conditions for education. The market reaches equilibrium at
output OQE. The government examines that there involves a positive externality. Hence, the government
has to encourage the consumption of such good so that the whole society will benefit and grant subsidies
on education. The subsequent effect is that the quantity consumed rises to OQs, the socially optimum
level of output where MSB - MSC.
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3. Taxes will raise revenue for the government.
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1. However, it would be administratively very difficult and expensive to charge every offending
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firm its own particular tax rate or grant every relevant firm its own rate of subsidy. Given that costs and
revenues differ substantially from one firm to another, separate tax and subsidy rates would be needed
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for each firm. Hence, an army of tax inspectors would be necessary to administer the system.
2. Even if government decides to charge a tax equal to each firm's MEC or grant subsidy equal to
MEB, it would still have the problem of measuring these costs and benefits. It is very difficult to
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3. Imposition of polluting tax to cure negative externalities may also lead to inflationary pressure in
the country. Hence, a government should be very cautious when imposing tax on its country's industries
since it is likely to make its products more expensive than those of foreign competitors.
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Other measures:
2. Laws - The firms could be prohibited by law from producing more than socially optimum,
output. Various polluting activities could be banned or restricted.
3. Regulatory bodies - Having identified possible cases where action might be required, the
regulatory body would probably conduct an investigation and then prepare a report containing its finding
and recommendations.
4. Persuasion - Government runs public campaign to try to limit the problem.
5. Nationalisation - Firms with associated externalities could be taken into public ownership and
their output controlled to take account of social costs and benefits.
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and benefits of a project in order to decide whether or not it should go ahead. It differs from ordinary
investment appraisal carried by profit maximising firms in that the approach considers only private costs
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and private benefits. But in a public sector, decision-makers have wider responsibilities. It is necessary
to take a wider view of the project, in the sense that the decision makers in the public sector must
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consider the social costs and social benefits of the proposed projects as a guide when deciding upon the
desirability of these projects. In other words, cost benefit analysis is intended to enable the decision
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makers to choose between alternative projects on the basis of their potential contribution to social
welfare. A project is considered to be economically feasible when the project must be capable of
producing an excess of benefits such that everyone in society could be made better off. In other words, if
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the social benefits of the project exceed the social costs, then it would be socially efficient to go ahead
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with it.
The process of cost benefit analysis requires that all costs and benefits be valued in monetary
terms. Since the project is being viewed from society's point of view, it should be society's valuation of
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costs and benefits which should be used. However, in a world where imperfect competition, externalities
and ignorance abound, market prices will not reflect the true social costs and benefits. Hence, the cost
benefit analysis estimates "shadow prices". These are imputed prices which are intended to reflect more
faithfully the true social costs and benefits of a project. For example, the value of time saved by an
individual following an improvement in transport facilities is often approximated using that person's
average hourly wage.
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characteristics of non-diminishability and non- excludability. The consumption of public goods by
additional consumers does not reduce the quantity consumed by existing consumers. In other words,
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public goods are said to be non-rival in consumption. The benefits of public goods are enjoyed by more
than one person at the same time. For example, both Mr X and Mr Y can simultaneously enjoy the
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benefits of street lightning. Mr X's consumption of the light does not significantly reduce the quantity of
light available to Mr Y. In this case, Mr X consumption and Mr Y consumption are said to be non-rival.
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Besides, public goods are meant for all individuals or population as a whole. There is no group
of individual who is excluded from consuming the public goods. This means that it is difficult to create
property rights over the public goods. Non excludability is said to exist when a person is likely to enjoy
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the benefits of the public goods whether or not payment is made for its use. Those who have already
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paid for the provision of the public goods have no means of preventing those who refuse to pay from
benefiting from their purchase (free-rider).
There is indeed no additional cost associated with the supply of an additional quantity of public
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goods to an extra user. Hence, the marginal cost of production for an extra person is zero. In other
words, the benefits it confers on consumers can be extended to others at zero cost (the cost of providing
the same level of public goods, say defence, to an extra person is zero). As such, this makes public
goods unattractive to private sectors. The characteristics of non- excludability suggests that private
enterprise would find it difficult to persuade people not to consume the product. Therefore, not only is it
impossible to charge for the consumption of public goods, it is also undesirable. These considerations
obviously make public goods unsuitable for provision through price mechanism.
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MERIT GOODS:
Merit goods are those goods whose consumption is highly desirable for the welfare of the
citizens. They constitute a category of those goods which have large positive externalities so that the
social benefits derived from consuming merit goods exceed the private benefits. In other words, the
government believes that consumers derive greater benefit from the consumption of the merit goods than
consumers themselves perceive. Examples of merit goods are education, health and housing.
Merit goods, unlike public goods, can be supplied both by the public and private sectors. But they are
usually not left entirely in the hands of the private firms. This is because the government believes that
consumers will buy too little of the merit goods if they are provided by private enterprise at market
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prices. They would only be available to a few who could afford to pay. Thus, the government intervenes
to encourage higher consumption of such a product, and this is done through subsidies.
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WHY MAY THE PROVISION OF MERIT GOODS NOT BE LEFT ENTIRELY TO PRIVATE
SECTOR?
1. The case of under-consumption:
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The major argument is that had the provision of merit goods been left alone to the private sector,
there would an under-consumption situation.
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Left alone to the private enterprise, the provision of essential services such as housing, education
and health would easily create a monopolisation of the services in question and several demerits would
be encountered. There would be an exploitation of consumer surplus.
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permitted price at which a particular good or service can be purchased. The minimum price is imposed
because it is believed that the equilibrium price or the market price is too low. Thus, the minimum price
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is always set above the equilibrium price. The government sets minimum price to prevent them falling
below a certain level. The effect of the minimum price can be illustrated as follows:
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The market equilibrium price is OP at which price the quantity demanded is equal to the quantity
supplied at Q. The government may fix a minimum price for this market at 0PM which is above the
current equilibrium price OP. At this higher price there is an excess of supply over demand given by the
extent Qs - QD.
There are various methods the government can use to deal with the surpluses associated with
minimum price:
The government could buy the surplus and store it.
Demand could be raised by advertising, by finding alternatives uses for the good, by increasing
prices of its substitutes.
Supply could be artificially lowered, for instance, supply could be reduced to QD
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permissible price the producer can legally charge. Maximum price should be imposed on goods and
services whose equilibrium price is too high. Thus, it is always set below the equilibrium price and
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prevent it rising above a certain level. The effect of the imposition of maximum price can be illustrated
as follows:
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The market equilibrium price is OP. The government may fix a maximum price for this market at
OPM which is below the current equilibrium price OP. At this lower price there is an excess of demand
over supply (shortage) given by the extent QD - QS. Thus, price is failing to fulfill its rationing function.
This disequilibrium will be dealt with in a variety of ways
A rationing system can be used on the basis of "First come first serve"
Firms decide which customers should be allowed to buy, for example, giving preference regular
customers; sell the goods based on religion or caste.
Suppliers and consumers may trade illegally at a price above the legal maximum price (black
market)
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To minimise these types of problem, the government may attempt to reduce the shortage by
encouraging supply: by releasing the shortage from its stocks, by direct government provision, or by
giving subsidies or tax relief to firms. Alternatively, it may attempt to reduce demand.
There are a number of reasons for a government imposition of a maximum price below the
equilibrium:
The government may aim to reduce the price that consumers pay for the good in order to raise
the real income of these consumers. For example, the government imposes a maximum price on
private sector rental housing.
The government may also fix maximum price in order to check excessive profits being made by
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firms supplying the good.
NOTE:
A minimum price will have no effect on the market it is fixed at or below the market equilibrium
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price.
A maximum price will have no effect on the market it is fixed at or above the market equilibrium
price.
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Indirect taxes may be regarded as a cost of production. Hence, when indirect taxes are imposed,
the producers face a higher cost of production. As a result, the supply curve shifts to the left by the
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amount of the tax. However, the shift is different for ad valorem tax and specific tax.
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The extent to which the tax is passed on to the consumer will be determined by the price
elasticity of demand and supply.
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AB is the total tax per unit imposed by the government. This tax is borne both by the producer
and by the consumer. AC is the tax per unit paid by consumers, while CB is paid by producers. Hence, it
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can be noted that consumers pay more tax than producers if demand is inelastic. This follows that when
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demand is perfectly inelastic, all the tax would be passed on to the consumers
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AB is the total tax per unit imposed by the government. This tax is borne both by the producer
and by the consumer. AC is the tax per unit paid by consumers, while CB is paid by producers. Hence, it
can be noted that producers pay more tax than consumers if demand is elastic. This follows that when
demand is perfectly elastic, all the tax is paid by producers only.
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AB is the total tax per unit imposed by the government. This tax is borne both by the producer
and by the consumer. AC is the tax per unit paid by consumers, while CB is paid by producers. Hence, it
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can be noted that producers pay more tax than consumers if supply is inelastic. This follows that when
supply is perfectly inelastic, all the tax is paid by producers only.
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AB is the total tax per unit imposed by the government. This tax is borne both by the producer
and by the consumer. AC is the tax per unit paid by consumers, while CB is paid by producers. Hence, it
can be noted that consumers pay more tax than producers if supply is elastic. This follows that when
supply is perfectly elastic, all the tax is paid by consumers only.
Note: In all situations, P1BDE is the total tax revenue for the government.
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SUBSIDIES:
The government sometimes subsidises a product by giving an amount of money to the producers
for each unit they sell. The benefit of the subsidy will be split between the producer and consumer. The
division will again depend upon the price elasticity of demand.
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AC is the total subsidy per unit granted by the government. This subsidy is benefited both by the
producer and by the consumer. AB is the subsidy per unit benefited by consumers, while BC is benefited
by producers.
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