On the basis of the three individual demand schedules in the following table, and assuming these are the only three people in the society, determine (a) the market demand schedule on the assumption that the good is a private good and (b) the collective demand schedule on the assumption that the good is a public good.

P($)QdD1
QdD2
QdD3
8010
7020
6031
5142
4253
3364
2475
1586

Short Answer

Expert verified

a. Market demand schedule for the private good.

Price($)Market Demand for the private good
81
72
64
57
410
313
216
119

b. Collective demand schedule for the public good

Price($)Collective demand for the public good
191
162
133
104
75
46
27
18

Step by step solution

01

Explanation for part ‘a’ 

In the case of a private good, the market demand schedule is calculated by adding the individual demands for the private good at each level of price. For example, At an $8 price, the sum of individual demands (D1, D2, and D3) gives the market demand at the said price; that is, the market demand equals 1 unit of the private good (=0+1+0).

Similarly, the market demand at each price level can be calculated to form the whole schedule as shown below:

P($)QdD1
QdD2
QdD3
Market Demand
(MD=D1+D2+D3
80101(=0+1+0)
70202(=0+2+0)
60314(=0+3+1)
51427(=1+4+2)
425310(=2+5+3)
336413(=3+6+4)
247516(=4+7+5)
158619(=5+8+6)
02

Explanation for part ‘b’

In the case of a public good, the collective demand schedule is calculated by estimating the total worth of a unit of the good for the consumers; that is, by adding up the willingness to pay of different individuals for different quantities of the public good, we get the demand.

For example, using the given table, we will find the prices at which the three consumers are demanding the 1st unit of the good; that is, the 1st consumer demands 1st unit at $5 price, 2nd consumer demands at $8, and 3rd consumer demands at $6. The total price willingness gives the worth of the good, which is equal to $19 (=5+8+6).

Similarly, we can find the worth of the two units and so on, as shown below.

1st consumer’s willingness to pay($)
2nd consumer’s willingness to pay($)
3rd consumer’s willingness to pay($)
Total price willingness ($)
Demand for the public good
58619(=5+8+6)
1
47516(=4+7+5)
2
36413(=3+6+4 )
3
25310(=2+5+3 )
4
1427(=1+4+2)
5
0314(=0+3+1)
6
0202(=0+2+0)
7
0101(=0+1+0)
8

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Most popular questions from this chapter

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What are the pluses and minuses of corporate location subsidies? Why do politicians like them so much? Would you be surprised to know that many of the 238 cities bidding for Amazon's HQ2 offered much larger location subsidies than did New York City and Alexandria, Virginia? Explain.

Explain the paradox of voting through reference to the accompanying table, which shows the ranking of three public goods by voters Colbert, Fallon, and Kimmel


Ranking
Public good
Colbert
Fallon
Kimmel
Courthouse
2nd Choice
1st Choice
3rd Choice
School
3rd Choice
2nd Choice
1st Choice
Park
1st Choice
3rd Choice
2nd Choice

True or False: The median-voter model explains why politicians so often stake out fringe positions that appeal only to a small segment of the electorate.

We can apply voting paradoxes to the highway construction example of Table 5.2. Suppose there are only five people in a society, and each favors one of the five highway construction options listed in Table 5.2 (“No new construction” is one of the five options). Explain which of these highway options will be selected using a majority paired-choice vote. Will this option be the optimal size of the project from an economic perspective?

Plan
Total cost of project (\()
Marginal cost (\))
Total Benefit
Marginal Benefit
Net Benefit (TB-TC)
No new construction
0-0--
A: Widen existing highways
5050200200150
B: New 2-lane highways
14090350150210
C: New 4-lane highways
240100470120230
D: New 6-lane highways
620380580110-40
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