1. 3.1 If society cared only about the well-being of consum ers so that it wanted to maximize consumer surplus, would a competitive market achieve that goal given that the government cannot force or bribe firms to produce more than the competitive level of output?

How would your answer change if society cared only about maximizing producer surplus?

26 Ron Stodghill, “Do You Know Where That Art Has Been?” New York Times, March 18, 2007.

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