Abortion and Liver Transplant

This week we have a highly controversial topic that has been debated from many points of views:  politics, ethics, religions, and so on.  Or you might think this is a highly personal decision in which economics could not play a role.  Even in something as personal as abortion or liver transplant, prices and incomes seem to matter.  A study regarding abortions shows that where and when the price of an abortion is higher, the number of abortions is lower; and this is consistent with the law of demand.

a)      If the price elasticity of demand for abortions is around 1 (or unit elastic), what does this mean?  Explain by giving an example.

b)      If the income elasticity of demand for abortions is around 0.5, what does this mean? Is abortion considered as a normal good or inferior good? Is it a necessity good or a luxury good?

c)      Take another delicate procedure: liver transplants.  Would you think the demand for liver transplants is more or less price-elastic than the demand for abortions?  Explain your reasoning

1. Post your answer (400-500 words) to the posted DQ responding to the matter asked, instead of repeating the question or not attending to the question. Substantive answers include making comments using concepts found in the assigned reading materials or offering examples from your experience. Hence merely providing a brief “yes, I agree” or “no, I do not agree” postings are not adequate posts

2. Write in correct grammar; any errors will translate to a deduction in points.

3. Check for the spelling; any errors will deduct points.

4. Your responses must be substantive that include your own thoughts, supported with research (at least two external sources other than textbook, and you must quote these sources)

5. Offer a creative solutions in addition to the obvious socio-economic impacts of each topic, such as environment, politic, or other issues.  

6. Offer a future recommendation or alternative options for the future with regard to the topic in question.

The

effects of taxes

on supply

and

demand

What determines who really bears the

burden of a tax

The

costs

and

benefits

of taxes and why

taxes impose a cost

that is larger than the tax revenue they raise

The difference between

progressive

and

regressive

taxes and the trade-off between

tax equity and tax efficiency

The

structure

of the U.S. tax system

To First

Active Learning

To Video

What you will learn in this chapter

1

WHISKEY’S FOR DRINKING… AND TAXING.

Taxes matter: Washington’s 1791 tax on whiskey distillers led to the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, the decline of small distillers, and local economies—and the rise of the Republican Party.

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image credit: The Granger Collection, New York
2

THE EFFECT OF AN EXCISE TAX ON QUANTITIES AND PRICES
Taxes drive a wedge between the price buyers pay and the price sellers receive.
To analyze the effects, we’ll graph two scenarios:
when the tax is levied on sellers
when the tax is levied on buyers
The incidence of a tax is a measure of who really pays it.

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3

AN EXCISE TAX IMPOSED ON HOTEL OWNERS
S1
S2
A
B

0
5,000
10,000
15,000
$140
120
100
80
60
40
20
Quantity of hotel rooms
Price
D
E

Excise tax = $40 per room

Supply curve shifts upward by the amount of the tax.
The equilibrium price of hotel rooms rises to $100 a night.
And the quantity falls to 5,000
Hotel guests bear some of the burden as price RISES from $80 to $100.
Hotel owners also bear some of the burden as their price (net of the tax paid) FALLS from $80 to $60.
The $40 excise tax is shared between buyers and sellers.

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AN EXCISE TAX IMPOSED ON HOTEL GUESTS
A
B

0
5,000
10,000
15,000
$140
120
100
80
60
40
20
Quantity of hotel rooms
E
S
D
2
D
1

Excise tax = $40 per room

Demand curve shifts downward by the amount
of the tax.
Price
The equilibrium price of hotel rooms falls to $60 a night.
And the quantity falls to 5,000.
Hotel guests also bear some of the burden as price RISES from $80 to $100 (after taxes are paid).
Hotel owners bear some of the burden as their price FALLS from $80 to $60.
The incidence of an excise tax doesn’t depend on who officially pays the tax.

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If A is the buyer price and B the seller price, how large is the per-unit tax imposed on the graph?
$5
$10
$15
$50
$1,000
A
B

0
100
200
300
$35
30
25
20
15
10
5
E
S
D1

Price
Quantity
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Active Learning

LEARN BY DOING: PRACTICE QUESTION

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6

PRICE ELASTICITIES AND TAX INCIDENCE
In a long-distance relationship, who will do more of the driving?
Does the “tax” fall more heavily to the more committed partner?
Although both buyer and seller share the burden of the tax, it’s not necessarily an equal burden.

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All image credits courtesy of Morgue File and/or FreeImages.com unless otherwise specified
7

This pleasure boat seems like a good thing to tax…
Or not: The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 applied a 10% federal luxury tax to the retail sale of luxury goods like pleasure boats with a sales price above $100,000.
Expected tax revenue? $9 billion. Reality?
Sales of boats went down 52.7%.
Net 30,000 jobs were lost.
The federal government paid out more than $7 million more in unemployment benefits to those workers than it collected in luxury tax revenues.
The federal luxury tax was repealed in 1993.
HOW NOT TO TAX…
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All image credits courtesy of Morgue File and/or FreeImages.com unless otherwise specified
8

WHEN AN EXCISE TAX IS PAID MAINLY BY CONSUMERS
D
S

$2.95
2.00
1.95
Price of gasoline (per gallon)
0
Quantity of gasoline (gallons)

Tax burden falls mainly on consumers.
Excise tax = $1 per gallon

When the price elasticity of demand is low and the price elasticity of supply is high, the burden of an excise tax falls mainly on consumers.

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WHEN AN EXCISE TAX IS PAID MAINLY BY PRODUCERS
D
S

$6.50
6.00
1.50
Price of parking space
0
Quantity of parking spaces

Tax burden falls mainly on producers.
Excise tax =
$5 per
parking space.

When the price elasticity of demand is high and the price elasticity of supply is low, the burden of an excise tax falls mainly on producers.

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If demand of some good is more elastic than supply and a tax is imposed on the consumption of the good, who will bear more of the burden of the tax?
Producers, because consumers have a greater ability to change their behavior in response to the tax.
Both parties will share the burden equally.
Consumers, because they pay the tax out of pocket.
The government, because the tax will cause less of the good to be produced and consumed.

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Active Learning

LEARN BY DOING: PRACTICE QUESTION

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11

Junk food has been criticized for being unhealthy and too cheap, enticing the poor to adopt unhealthy lifestyles. Suppose that the state of Oklahansas imposes a tax on junk food. What has to be true for the tax to actually deter the most people from eating junk food: Should junk food demand be elastic or should it be inelastic?
Demand should be perfectly inelastic.
Demand should be elastic.
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Active Learning

LEARN BY DOING: PRACTICE QUESTION

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12

In 2010, New York contemplated a $1/pack cigarette tax. This video highlights the costs of the tax. Click here (or on the picture below). (1:22 minutes)

Copyright 2016 Worth Publishers

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LEARN BY DOING: APPLICATION VIDEO

13

THE BENEFITS AND COSTS OF TAXATION
More children are born in late December than in early January, and the extra births appear to be clustered among those who have the most to gain from a tax deduction.
Unless you’re a cynic, or an economist, I realize you might have trouble believing that the intricacies of the nation’s tax code would impinge on something as sacred as the birth of a child.
But it appears that you would be wrong.
— David Leonhardt, The New York Times

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All image credits courtesy of Morgue File and/or FreeImages.com unless otherwise specified
14

THE REVENUE FROM AN EXCISE TAX
S
B

6
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
$140
120
100
80
60
40
20
Quantity of hotel rooms
D
E
Area = tax revenue

Excise tax = $40 per room.
A

Price of hotel room
The tax revenue collected =
$40 per room × 5,000 rooms = $200,000

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If A is the buyer price and B the seller price, how large is the government revenue from a $10 per-unit tax?
$5
$10
$15
$50
$1,000
A
B

0
100
200
300
$35
30
25
20
15
10
5
E
S
D1

Price
Quantity
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Active Learning

LEARN BY DOING: PRACTICE QUESTION

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16

INCREASING THE TAX RATE DOES NOT NECESSARILY INCREASE REVENUE
Quantity of hotel rooms
Price of hotel room
S

6
0
,000
7,500
10,000
15,000
$140
120
80
90
70
40
20
D
E

(a) An excise tax of $20
S

0
5,000
2,500
10,000
15,000
$140
120
110
80
50
40
20
D
E

(b) An excise tax of $60
Price of hotel room
Quantity of hotel rooms
Excise tax = $20 per room.
Excise tax = $60 per room.
Area = tax revenue
Area = tax revenue

Tax revenue= $150,000
Tax revenue= $150,000

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THE COSTS OF TAXATION: REDUCTION IN CONSUMER AND PRODUCER SURPLUS

QE
Quantity
S
E
D

Price
QT
PL
PC
PP
C
A
B
F

Excise tax = T

Fall in consumer surplus due to tax

Fall in producer surplus due to tax
Lost surplus is called deadweight loss.

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THE EFFECTS OF A TAX

Consumer surplus— consumers get this.
Deadweight loss—no one gets this.
Tax
Price buyer pays = $2.65.
Price seller receives = $1.65.
500 = QT
A Tax generates revenue and creates a deadweight loss.
Price
Quantity
700 = QE
Demand
Supply
Tax revenue—the government gets this.
Tax Revenue
= $500

tax = $1
Producer surplus—producers get this.

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If A is the buyer price and B the seller price, how large is the deadweight loss from a $10 per-unit tax?
$5
$10
$15
$500
$1,000
A
B

0
100
200
300
$35
30
25
20
15
10
5
E
S
D1

Price
Quantity
To Next

Active Learning

LEARN BY DOING: PRACTICE QUESTION

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20

Using the framework below, draw two demand curves, one elastic, one inelastic. Show how, all else equal, the size of the deadweight loss is larger with elastic demand.
For each graph, label the:
Consumer and producer price and new quantity traded.
Area of government revenue.
Consumer and producer surplus before and after the tax.
Area of deadweight loss.
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LEARN BY DOING: PRACTICE QUESTION

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21

DEADWEIGHT LOSS AND ELASTICITIES
Quantity
D
E

(a) Elastic demand
(b)
Inelastic demand
Quantity
D
S
E
S

Deadweight loss is larger when demand is elastic.

QE
QE
QT
QT
PE
PC
PP
PE
PC
PP

Excise tax = T.
Excise tax = T
Deadweight loss is smaller when demand is inelastic.
Price
Price

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DEADWEIGHT LOSS AND ELASTICITIES

(c) Elastic Supply
(d)
Inelastic Supply
Quantity
Price
D
E

S

Quantity
D
E

S

P
E
P
C
P
P
P
E
P
C
P
P
Q
E
Q
E
Q
T
Q
T

Excise tax = T
Excise tax = T
Deadweight loss is smaller when supply is inelastic
Deadweight loss is larger when supply is elastic
Price

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DEADWEIGHT LOSS AND ELASTICITIES
If the goal in in tax policy is efficiency (minimizing deadweight loss), then policymakers should choose the goods with the lowest price elasticities.
A tax on insulin would be efficient—but not necessarily fair.

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All image credits courtesy of Morgue File and/or FreeImages.com unless otherwise specified

Your mayor has asked you to come up with an excise tax that will be as efficient as possible.
With a partner, choose a good to be taxed and explain why it will cause a low deadweight loss.

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LEARN BY DOING: DISCUSS

25

TAX FAIRNESS AND TAX EFFICIENCY
Two principles of tax fairness:
The benefits principle: Those who benefit from public spending should bear the burden of the tax that pays for that spending.
The ability-to-pay principle: Those with greater ability to pay a tax should pay more tax.
There is usually a trade-off between equity and efficiency: The system can be made more efficient only by making it less fair, and vice versa.

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All image credits courtesy of Morgue File and/or FreeImages.com unless otherwise specified

UNDERSTANDING THE TAX SYSTEM
Some important taxes and terms:
The tax base is the measure, such as income or property value, that determines how much tax an individual or firm pays.
Taxed on each barrel of whiskey you produce? Then whiskey is your tax base.

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All image credits courtesy of Morgue File and/or FreeImages.com unless otherwise specified

UNDERSTANDING THE TAX SYSTEM
Some important taxes and terms:
Lump-sum tax is the same for everyone, regardless of any actions people take.
Income tax depends on income from wages and investments.
Payroll tax depends on the earnings an employer pays to an employee.
Sales tax depends on the value of goods sold.
Profits tax depends on a firm’s profits.
Property tax depends on the value of property, such as a home.
Wealth tax: a tax that depends on an individual’s wealth.

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UNDERSTANDING THE TAX SYSTEM
The tax structure specifies how the tax depends on the tax base.
A progressive tax takes a larger share of the income of high-income taxpayers than of low-income taxpayers.
A regressive tax takes a smaller share of the income of high-income taxpayers than of low-income taxpayers.
The marginal tax rate is the percentage of an increase in income that is taxed away.

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MAJOR TAXES IN THE UNITED STATES, 2013

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FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL TAXES AS A PERCENT OF INCOME, BY INCOME CATEGORY, 2013

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31

YOU THINK YOU PAY HIGH TAXES?
OECD, 2013

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32

TOP U.S. MARGINAL INCOME TAX RATES FOR 100 YEARS

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33

Amazon versus BarnesandNoble.com
Were Amazon’s lower prices due to tax law?
Whereas firms with “bricks-and-mortar” locations in a state were required to pay sales tax, Amazon was not.
As of 2014, Amazon pays taxes in 19 states – and is building warehouses in those states to speed delivery.

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LEARN BY DOING: BUSINESS CASE

34