7. Correcting for negative externalities - Taxes versus tradablepermits Nuclear facilities emit radioactive waste as a waste product. This generates a cost to society that is not paid for by the firm; therefore, pollution is a negative externality of electricity production. Suppose the US. government wants to correct this market failure by getting firms to internalize the cost of pollution. To do this, the government can charge firms for pollution rights (the right to emit a given quantity of radioactive waste). The following graph shows the daily demand for pollution rights. Use the graph input tool to help you answer the following questions. You will not be graded on any changes you make to this graph. Note: Once you enter a value in a white field, the graph and any corresponding amounts in each grey field will change accordingly. / \\ Graph Input Tool K31 so _. Daily Demand for Pollution Rights 54 - . Price 48 _ (Dollars per ton) A Quantity 5 42 - + Demanded 150 C I (Millions of tons) 3 36 I 9 I s so - g I I 24 I 9 1e - I E I Demand 12 I I 5 " I o wllIlllllli o 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 QUANTITY (Millions of tons) Suppose the government has determined that the socially optimal quantity of radioactive waste is 150 million tons per clay. One way governments can charge firms for pollution rights is by imposing a per-unit tax on emissions. A tax (or price in this case) of $42 per ton of radioactive waste emitted will achieve the desired level of pollution. Now suppose the U.S. government does not know the demand curve for pollution and, therefore, cannot determine the optimal tax to achieve the desired level of pollution. Instead, it auctions off tradable pollution permits. Each permit entitles its owner to emit one ton of radioactive waste per day. To achieve the socially optimal quantity of pollution, the government auctions off 150 million pollution permits. Given this quantity of permits, the price for each permit in the market for pollution rights will be $42 . The previous analysis hinges on the government having good information regarding either the demand for pollution permits or the optimal level of pollution (or both). Given that the appropriate policy (tradable permits or corrective taxes) can depend on the available information and the policy goal, consider the following scenario. Imagine that new research suggests that if manufacturers in a particular city reduced their emissions to 70 million tons of waste per year, the air quality would improve dramatically. If this is all the information the government has, which solution to reduce pollution is appropriate? Check all that apply. C] Corrective taxes C] Tradable permits