Over the past few years during the Pandemic, there has been substantial impacts on the market for masks. Please answer the following questions, assuming the market for masks satisfies the conditions for being a competitive market. You are welcome to use a supply/demand figure to support your answers.

a) Back in April of 2020 when most states started mandating masks, explain how this impacted the mask market in the short-run (say over a period of a couple of weeks to a month). Specifically, what side of the market was "shocked" and what impact did this have on market prices and output levels?

b) As the pandemic continued and the mask mandates remained through 2020 and 2021, explain how the market for masks adjusted over the long-run time horizon. Specifically, apply what we learned about long-run competitive market dynamics to discuss how prices adjusted in the market and why.

c) Currently, most states have removed the mask mandates. Explain how this impacted the mask market in both the short-run, and in the long-run as the market continues to have ample time to adjust.