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SPP/Econ541 AlanDeardorffFallTerm2008 FinalExam–Answers Page1of8
FinalExam–AnswersDecember16,2008
Answerinbluebook.Usethepointvaluesasaguidetohowextensivelyyoushouldanswereachquestion,andbudgetyourtimeaccordingly.Theexamhasatotalof60points.1. (8points)InJulyof2008,theDohaRoundnegotiationsbrokedown.Intwo
paragraphs,describefirstthemajorissuesthathaddividedthecountriesthroughoutthenegotiations,andsecondthespecificissueonwhichtheirfailuretoagreeinJulyprecipitatedthebreakdown.
Throughoutthenegotiations,themajorissueswereagriculturalprotectionandsubsidiesintheUSandEU,ontheonehand,andhightariffsindevelopingcountriesonbothagricultureandmanufacturedgoodsontheother.DevelopingcountrieswantedtheUStoreduceitsagriculturalsubsidies,andtheEUtoreduceitsagriculturaltariffs,bothinordertobenefitdevelopingcountryfarmerswhosufferedfromlowworldpricesfortheirproducts.Inreturn,thedevelopedcountriesinsistedongreatermarketaccessintodevelopingcountriesfortheirexportsofagriculturalandmanufacturedgoods,aswellasofservices.InJuly,however,thestickingpointwasthetriggerfor“specialsafeguardsinagriculture.”Thiswasaprovisionthatwouldallowdevelopingcountriestoraisetariffsonagriculturalimportstoprotecttheirfarmers.Thesafeguardswouldbetriggeredbyanincreaseinimportsaboveacertainpercentage,andthedisagreementwasoverthatpercentage.TheUSwantedthattobeover40%,whichwouldmeanthatimportswouldneedtorisebythatamountatleastbeforethedevelopingcountriescouldraisetariffs.IndiaandChina,ontheotherhand,insistedthatthistriggershouldbesetmuchlower.2. (9points)Inthefigurebelowareshowndomesticdemandanddomestic
marginalcostinanindustryofasmallopeneconomythatfacesaworldprice
€
PW ofthisgood.Themarginalcostcurvemayrepresentthatofaperfectlycompetitiveindustrywithlotsofdomesticfirms,inwhichcaseMCisthecompetitivesupplycurve.Or,inadifferentcase,MCmaybethemarginalcostofasinglefirm,theonlyfirmproducingthegoodinthecountry.Inbothcases,initiallythecountryislevyingatariffof
€
t0 ,thedomesticpriceis
€
PW + t0 whichhappenstobeattheintersectionofDandMC,andthecountryisthusbothproducingandconsumingthequantity
€
Q0 .Supposenowthatthecountryincreasesitstarifftothelevel
€
t1shown.Explainwhathappens,asaresult,first(Case1)undertheassumptionthattherearealargenumberofcompetitivedomesticfirmswithsupplycurveMC,and
SPP/Econ541 AlanDeardorffFallTerm2008 FinalExam–Answers Page2of8
second(Case2)undertheassumptionthatthereisonlyasingledomesticfirmwithmarginalcostcurveMC.Specifically,saywhathappensto
a. Domesticpriceb. Domesticproductionc. Domesticconsumptiond. Producerwelfaree. Consumerwelfaref. Governmentrevenueg. Welfareofthecountryasawhole
Case1:Herenothinghappens.Importsarealreadyzero,sothefactthat
consumerswouldhavetopayahigherprice,
€
PW + t1,inordertoimportcan’tdiscouragethemanyfurther.Andthedomesticpricecannotriseabove
€
PW + t0 ,sinceifitdidthecompetitivefirms,supplyingouttotheirsupplycurveMC,wouldproducemorethanisdemandedandforcepricebackdown.Thusallofthelistedvariablesremainunchanged.
Case2:Herethetariffincreasedoesmakeadifference,sinceitpermitsthesinglesuppliertochargeapriceashighas
€
PW + t1withoutcompetitionfromimports.Itcannotchargeapricehigherthanthatbecausethenitwouldloseallsalestoimports.AnditdoesnotwanttochargeapricelowerthanthatsinceitisbelowthemonopolypriceshownasderivingfrommarginalrevenueMRandmarginalcost.Therefore,
€
PW + t1becomesthenewdomesticprice.Thus,domesticpricerises,quantitiesproducedandconsumedbothfallto
€
Q1 .Demanderslose
SPP/Econ541 AlanDeardorffFallTerm2008 FinalExam–Answers Page3of8
areas(a+b+c+d).Thesingleproducergainsrevenueof(a+b+c)whilelosingrevenueof(e+f+g)andgainingfromareductionintotalcostof(f+g).Thusthefirmhasanetgaininprofitof(a+b+c–e).Thereisnochangeingovernmentrevenue,sinceimportscontinuetobezero.Thuswelfareofthecountryasawholechangesby–(a+b+c+d)+(a+b+c–d)=–(d+e).
3. (10points)Usethemonopolisticcompetitionmodel(reminder:it’sthemodel
whosediagramappearsbelow)toshowwhatwillhappen…a. Iftwoidenticalcountriesmovefromautarkytofreetrade
i. Toprice;ii. Tothenumberoffirmsfromwhichconsumerscanbuy;andiii. Tothenumberoffirmsineachcountry.
b. If,startingfromfreetrade,thereisafallinthemarginalcostofproduction(thesameineachfirm)
i. Toprice;ii. Tothenumberoffirms.
TheCCcurveshowsaveragecost
€
AC = n F /S( ) + c wherenisthenumberoffirms,Fisfixedcostperfirm,Sisthesizeofthemarket,andcismarginalcost.ThustheCCcurvehasverticalinterceptcandslopeF/S.
SPP/Econ541 AlanDeardorffFallTerm2008 FinalExam–Answers Page4of8
ThePPcurveshowshowtheprofitmaximizingmarkupovermarginalcost(andhenceprice)fallsasthenumberofcompetitorsincreases:
€
P = 1/bn( ) + c wherebistheparameterofthedemandfunctionindicatinghowdemandforafirm’sproductvarieswithitspricerelativetotheaveragepriceofallfirms. InitialequilibriumineachoftheidenticalcountriesinautarkyistheintersectionofCCandPP,thuspriceP0andnumberoffirmsn0.Whenthetwocountriesengageinfreetrade,theresultisaworldeconomywithtwicethemarketeachhadbefore,thus2SinsteadofS.ThisleavesthePPcurveunchangedbutrotatestheCCcurvetohavehalftheslopeithadbefore,thereforepassingthroughthepoint(2n0,P0)asshown.ThenewequilibriumintersectionisthereforeatthelowerpriceP1andanumberoffirms,n1,thatishigherthaneachfirmhadinautarky,butlowerthantheircombinedautarkytotal2n1.Thustherearemorefirmsintheworldthaneachcountryhadbefore,andconsumersgettochooseamongthemall.Buteachcountryhasfewerfirmsthanbefore. Ifnowthemarginalcost,c,fallsinallfirms,thisshiftsboththeCCcurveandthePPcurvedownbythesameamount(thechangeinc).Idon’tbothertodrawthat,sinceitclearlyreducestheequilibriumpricebytheamountofthefallinc,whileleavingthenumberoffirmsunchanged.
SPP/Econ541 AlanDeardorffFallTerm2008 FinalExam–Answers Page5of84. (9points)Consideradomesticmonopolythatisprotectedbyaveryhightariff
fromcompetitionfromacompetitiveforeignmarket,sothatitcanchargeonepriceinitshomemarketandanotherabroad.Assumethatthefirm’smarginalcostisconstantandthatallsupplyanddemandcurvesarelinear.
a. Showanequilibriuminwhichthefirmengagesindumping.
b. Ifthefirmwerenowconfrontedwithananti‐dumpingstatuteandit
wishedtoavoidbeingsubjectedtoananti‐dumpingduty,howwoulditalteritsbehavior?Besuretoshowacaseinwhichitcontinuestoservebothmarkets.
SPP/Econ541 AlanDeardorffFallTerm2008 FinalExam–Answers Page6of85. (24points)SupposeyouaretheUSITCtryingtodecideasafeguardcaseinthe
UnitedStatesbroomindustry.YousomehowknowthatsupplyelasticityoftheUSbroommanufacturers(whoarenumerousandplausiblyperfectlycompetitive)is+2.0,butyouhavebeengiventwodifferentestimatesoftheUSelasticityofdemandforbrooms:–1.0and–3.0.Theworldpriceofbroomshasrecentlyfallenfrom$5.00to$4.00,atwhichpricetheindustryisnowproducing8.0millionbroomsdomesticallyandimporting72.0millionbrooms.Assumethatdomesticandimportedbroomsareidenticaland,exceptwheretoldotherwise,thatthesequantitiesareanegligiblepartoftheworldmarketforbrooms.
Answerthefollowingquestions,givingtwoanswerstoeachiftheydependupontheelasticityofdemand,oneforeachofthetwoelasticitiesabove.(Ifyouhavetroublewithpartsofthequestion,goaheadandanswerotherpartsevenifyouneedtomakeupanswerstoworkwith.Iwillthengradebasedonthosemade‐uporincorrectanswers.)
a. Assumingthatemploymentintheindustryisproportionaltooutput,
bywhatpercentagedidemploymentrecentlydrop?Pricefellby20%.Withasupplyelasticityof2.0,outputandthusemploymentwouldhavedroppedtwicethis,or40%.Thisanswerdoesnotdependonthedemandelasticity.
b. WhatsizeadvaloremtariffshouldtheITCrecommendifitwishestorestoreemploymenttowhatitwasbefore?HowwouldyouranswerdifferifyouthoughtthatUSdemandforbroomswasalargepartoftheworldmarket?Itneedstoraisethepricebackupto$5.00.Ifthesmallcountryassumptionisvalid,thena25%tariffwilladd$1.00tothe$4.00priceofimportsandachievethisresult.Ifinsteadthelargecountryassumptionisneeded,thena25%tariffwillraisethedomesticpricebylessthanthis,asitwillinsteaddrivedowntheworldprice.Thusatarifflargerthan25%wouldbeneeded.Noneofthisdependsonthedemandelasticity.
c. Usingthetariffyouspecifiedinthefirstpartof(b),bywhatpercentagedoesthedemandforbroomsdeclineasaresultofthetariff?Also,bywhatpercentagedoestheUSdemandforimportsofbroomsdeclineasaresultofthetariff?The25%tarifffrompart(b)willcausedemandforbroomstofallby25%ifthedemandelasticityis1.0andby75%ifthedemandelasticityis3.0.Demandatthe$4.00pricewas80.0millionbrooms(domestic
SPP/Econ541 AlanDeardorffFallTerm2008 FinalExam–Answers Page7of8
supplyplusimports).Sodemandfallseitherby20.0millionto60.0million,orby60.0millionto20.0million.Atthesametime,withthesupplyelasticityof2.0,supplyisincreasingbytwice25%,from8.0to12.0millionbrooms.Thusimportsfallfrom72.00milliontoeither60–12=48or20–12=8.Thatis,importsfallbyeither(72–48)/72=1/3=33.3%iftheelasticityofdemandforbroomsis1.0orby(72–8)/72=8/9=88.9%
d. Fromyouranswertopart(c),whatistheelasticityofdemandforimports?Howdoesitcomparetotheunderlyingelasticitiesofsupplyanddemand,andwhy?Thedemandelasticityforimportsisthepercentchangeinimportsdividedbythepercentchangeinprice,whichisthereforeeither–.33/.25=–1.33(ifthedemandelasticityforbroomsis1.0)or–.889/.25=–3.56(ifthedemandelasticityforbroomsis3.0).Theelasticityofdemandforimportsinbothcasesislargerthaneithertheelasticityofsupplyortheelasticityofdemand.Thisisnormal,sincedemandforimportsisanexcessdemand.Thusthechangeinquantityislarger,beingthesumofchangesinsupplyanddemand,whiletheinitialquantity(whatitisapercentageof)issmallerthantheinitialquantitydemanded.
e. Againusingthetarifffromthefirstpartof(b),calculatethechangeinconsumersurplusduetothetariff.Explainwhyconsumersarehurtlessinoneelasticitycasethanintheother.Thetariffcausespricetoriseby$1andthequantitydemandedtofallfrom80milliontoeither60or20million.Thelossofconsumersurplusis$1×(80+60)/2=$70millionor$1×(80+20)/2=$50million.Consumersloselesswhentheelasticityishigh,becausetheyavoidmoreofthecostofthetariffbysubstitutingawaytowardothergoods.
f. Whatisthenetwelfarecosttothecountryofusingthistariff?Again,explainwhythecountryishurtlessinoneelasticitycasethanintheother.Thisisthedeadweightlossduetothetariff,whichisthetwousualtriangleswhosebasesarethechangesinsupplyanddemandandwhoseheightisthe$1priceincrease.Thusthedeadweightlossiseither$1×(4+20)/2=$12million(withelasticity1.0)or$1×(4+60)/2=$32million(withelasticity3.0).
SPP/Econ541 AlanDeardorffFallTerm2008 FinalExam–Answers Page8of8
Thelossisgreaterwiththelargerelasticitybecauseitmakesdemandchangemoreandthusincreasesthesizeofthedemanddistortion.
g. Whatpolicy,otherthanatariff,couldachievethesamerestorationofbroom‐industryemploymentbutatlowercosttotheeconomyasawhole?A25%subsidytoproductionwouldcausethesameincreaseinoutputandthusemployment,butwithadeadweightlossofonly$1×4/2=$2million.
h. Discussbrieflytwootherpolicies,bothofwhichappearatleasttosomedegreeinUSlaw,bywhichthisdisruptiontothebroomindustrymightbedealtwith.TradeAdjustmentAssistanceprovidessupplementalunemploymentcompensationandassistancefortrainingandrelocationfortradedisplacedworkers.Wageinsurance(calledAlternativeTradeAdjustmentAssistanceinUSlaw)temporarilygivessometradedisplacedworkersaportionofanydropinwageswhentheytakeanewjob.Bothoftheseareviewedaspreferabletoasafeguardstariff,inthattheyhelpworkerstoadjusttothenewsituationratherthandiscouragingthatadjustment,andtheyavoidthedeadweightlossesfromtheotherpolicies.