Class Assignment
Markets and Economics of the Public Sector
Purpose of Assignment
In Week 2, students will employ the supply and demand model to develop consumer surplus and producer surplus as a measure of welfare and market efficiency. Students learn about welfare economics–the study of how the allocation of resources affects economic well-being–and will discover that under most circumstances, the equilibrium price and quantity is also the one that maximizes welfare. Students will review different sources of externalities and a variety of potential cures and will see that while markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity, governments can sometimes improve market outcomes. Students will see how the U.S. government raises and spends money and the difficulty of making a tax system both efficient and equitable.
Assignment Steps
Scenario: Imagine you have been assigned the responsibility of preparing a paper for the governor’s next economic conference.
Prepare a 1,050-word paper addressing the following:
Explain why equilibrium of supply and demand is desirable.
Explain the following concepts using the concept of consumer and producer surplus:
Efficiency of markets
Costs of taxation
Benefits of international trade
Discuss how externalities may prevent market equilibrium and the various governments policies used to remedy the inefficiencies in markets caused by externalities.
Analyze the difference between the efficiency of a tax system and the equity of a tax system as it refers to the costs imposed on taxpayers using the benefits principles.
Cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources, not including your textbook.
Format consistent with APA guidelines.
Solution Preview
Markets and economics of the public sector
Supply and demand are one of the most crucial concepts about economics. Economists say that it is the backbone of the market economy in every nation. Demand can be defined as the amount of quantity of services or products are desired by buyers. For instance, if there are so many people who want to buy a special new cloth in the market, then we can say that the demand is high.
(1,334 words)