Commuter trains often have$$ "quiet cars" in which passengers are expected not to play music or engage in loud conversations. An opinion poll that asked whether airline passengers reclined their seats found that$$ "half of respondents recline half the time or$$ more, half of respondents do it once in a while or$$ never." Consider two possible ways that airlines might deal with the externality caused by reclining a$$ seat:

i$.$ Make all seats so that they cannot be reclined.

ii$.$ Have a$"$no reclining" section on each flight$($similar to the quiet cars on commuter$$ trains$)$ in which passengers would not be allowed to recline their seats.

$$Sources: Benjamin Freed and Elaina$$ Plott, "How to Not Get Yelled at in the$$ Acela's Quiet$$ Car," washingtonian.com, May$9,2018$; and Walt$$ Hickey, $"41$ Percent of Fliers Think$$ You're Rude if You Recline Your$$ Seat," fivethirtyeight.com$,$ September$6,2014.$

Part $2$

Would either of these changes be likely to result in an economically efficient$$ outcome? Briefly explain.

A$.$

Neither option would result in an efficient outcome because passenger preferences not only$$ differ, but differ on each flight. The costs to some from reclining their seats will likely exceed the benefits they impose on others so that having only$$ non$-$reclining seats would not be efficient.$$ Furthermore, it is unlikely that the number of seats in any$$ non$-$reclining section will be exactly the same as the number of people for whom the costs of$$ non$-$reclining seats exceed the benefits.

B$.$

Having only$$ non$-$reclining seats would not result in an efficient outcome because for$$ some, the cost of a reclining seat is less than the benefit to the person who reclines their seat.$$ However, having a$"$no reclining" section on each flight would always result in a socially efficient outcome because those who seriously object to having the seat in front of them recline could choose to be in that part of the$$ plane, while those who want to recline their seat$($or who$$ don't care if the seat in front of them is$$ reclined$)$ could choose to be in the other section.

C$.$

Having only$$ non$-$reclining seats would result in an efficient outcome because all passengers would be treated equally. For the same$$ reason, having a$"$no reclining" section on each flight would always result in a socially inefficient outcome because it is unfair to treat people differently.

D$.$

Neither option would result in an efficient outcome because passenger preferences not only$$ differ, but differ on each flight. The benefits to some from reclining their seats will likely exceed the costs they impose on others so that having only$$ non$-$reclining seats would not be efficient.$$ Furthermore, it is unlikely that the number of seats in any$$ non$-$reclining section will be exactly the same as the number of people for whom the benefits of$$ non$-$reclining seats exceed the costs.