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Suppose the market for a public good consists of 1,000 (one thousand) identical consumers of that good, each with a demand curve of the form

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Suppose the market for a public good consists of 1,000 (one thousand) identical consumers of that good, each with a demand curve of the form P = 5 - 0.2Q, meaning the aggregate willingness to pay (or the true market demand) curve for the public good is P = 5,000 - 200Q (found from Pagg = 1000a; - 1000b;Q). The marginal cost of producing this good is constant and equal to $1,000 (MC = 1000). a) Explain, showing relevant workings, why the efficient quantity for this good is 20 units. (3 marks) b) Draw a diagram of this market, showing the aggregate willingness to pay curve for this public good, the marginal cost curve, and the efficient quantity. (You do not need to show the individual consumers' demand curves.) (3 marks) c) Explain why, when there are more consumers in the market for a public good, the aggregate willingness to pay curve gets steeper (note: it is not sufficient to refer to the equation Pagg = 1000a; - 1000b;Q; you must explain the reason for this steeper slope with reference to consumers' willingness to pay and the non-rivalry and non- excludability characteristics of public goods). (6 marks) d) Explain, with reference to the non-rivalry and non-excludability characteristics of a public good, why the efficient quantity is unlikely to be produced in the absence of government intervention in this market. (4 marks) e) Explain, using a relevant example, how developments in technology have enabled EITHER a good that was formerly a public good to become excludable and/or rival, OR, a good that was previously a private good to become non-excludable and/or non- rival. (Note: you only need to discuss one example) (4 marks)

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