C. 7; 6; 5
D. 6; 4; 2
Suppose that a government agency is trying to decide between two pollution reduction
policy options. Under the permit option, 100 pollution permits would be sold, each
allowing emission of one unit of pollution. Firms would be forced to shut down if they
produced any units of pollution for which they did not hold a permit. Under the
pollution tax option, firms would be taxed $250 for each unit of pollution emitted. The
regulated firms all currently pollute and face varying costs of pollution reduction,
though all face increasing marginal costs of pollution reduction. Suppose the tax policy
is adopted. A firm will be willing to pay the tax if $250 is less than or equal to:
A. the cost of reducing its existing pollution by one unit.
B. its marginal revenue.
C. its average total cost of production.
D. the average cost of eliminating one unit of pollution.
Suppose you are an economic researcher, and you have access to detailed information
about all of the firms in a given geographic area. You would conclude that the pollution
reduction policy in that area is efficient if you observe that:
A. all firms produce approximately the same amount of pollution.
B. the cleanest firms are also the most profitable.