Suppose a paper mill earns $1,000,000 in profits when it pollutes a river, and it can abate pollution at a cost of $75,000. The effects of the pollution are confined to a single farmer who earns $400,000 if the water he uses from the river is clean and $300,000 if it's polluted. Suppose the law guarantees the farmer access to clean water from the river. Which of the following describes an efficient outcome in this case?
A. The owner of the mill is unable to pay the farmer enough to secure his permission to pollute the river.
B. The owner of the mill pays the farmer $87,500 for his permission to pollute the river.
C. The owner of the mill pays the farmer $112,500 for his permission to pollute the river.
D. The farmer pays the owner of the mill $87,500 to stop polluting.
A. The owner of the mill is unable to pay the farmer enough to secure his permission to pollute the river.
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Which of the following is a good that might not be bought when prices rise?
a) complement b) substitute c) inferior good d) luxury
The optimum level of pollution emissions
A) is zero. B) occurs where the marginal external benefit is zero. C) occurs where no damage to the environment is being done. D) occurs where the marginal external benefit equals the marginal external cost. E) occurs where the marginal external cost equals the marginal cost of abatement.