Question
The following graph shows the weekly market for handbags in some hypothetical economy. Suppose the government levies a tax of $40.60 per bag. The tax
The following graph shows the weekly market for handbags in some hypothetical economy. Suppose the government levies a tax of $40.60 per bag. The tax places a wedge between the price buyers pay and the price sellers receive.
A graph plots supply and demand for handbags, with price in dollars per bag ranging from 0 to 200 in increments of 20 on the y-axis and quantity in bags of handbags ranging from 0 to 500 in increments of 50 on the x-axis. A downward sloping straight line labeled demand passes through the points (250, $100.00) and (215, $105.60); a positive sloping straight line labeled supply passes through the points (250, $100.00) and (215, $65.00). The curves intersect at (250, $100.00). A black vertical line labeled tax wedge connects the supply and demand curves to the left of their intersection via points (215, $105.60) along the demand curve and (215, $65.00) along the supply curve. The supply curve is steeper than the demand curve.
050100150200250300350400450500200180160140120100806040200PRICE (Dollars per bag)QUANTITY (Bags of handbags)Tax WedgeDemandSupply215, 105.6
Complete the following table by filling in the quantity sold, the price buyers pay, and the price sellers receive before and after the tax.
Quantity | Price Buyers Pay | Price Sellers Receive | |
---|---|---|---|
(Bags of handbags) | (Dollars per bag) | (Dollars per bag) | |
Before Tax | |||
After Tax |
Using your answers from the previous table, calculate the tax burden that falls on buyers and on sellers, respectively, and calculate the price elasticity of demand and supply over the relevant ranges using the midpoint method. Enter your results in the following table.
Tax Burden | Elasticity | |
---|---|---|
(Dollars per bag) | ||
Buyers | ||
Sellers |
The tax burden falls more heavily on the side of the market that is more elastic.
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