Problems
1.A survey indicated that chocolate ice cream is America’s favorite ice-
- a. A severe drought in the Midwest causes dairy farmers to reduce the number of milk-
producing cows in their herds by a third. These dairy farmers supply cream that is used to manufacture chocolate ice cream. - b. A new report by the American Medical Association reveals that chocolate does, in fact, have significant health benefits.
- c. The discovery of cheaper synthetic vanilla flavoring lowers the price of vanilla ice cream.
- d. New technology for mixing and freezing ice cream lowers manufacturers’ costs of producing chocolate ice cream.
2.In a supply and demand diagram, draw the change in demand for hamburgers in your hometown due to the following events. In each case show the effect on equilibrium price and quantity.
- a. The price of tacos increases.
- b. All hamburger sellers raise the price of their french fries.
- c. Income falls in town. Assume that hamburgers are a normal good for most people.
- d. Income falls in town. Assume that hamburgers are an inferior good for most people.
- e. Hot dog stands cut the price of hot dogs.
3.The market for many goods changes in predictable ways according to the time of year, in response to events such as holidays, vacation times, seasonal changes in production, and so on. Using supply and demand, explain the change in price in each of the following cases. Note that supply and demand may shift simultaneously.
- a. Lobster prices usually fall during the summer peak harvest season, despite the fact that people like to eat lobster during the summer months more than during any other time of year.
- b. The price of a Christmas tree is lower after Christmas than before and fewer trees are sold.
- c. The price of a round-
trip ticket to Paris on Air France falls by more than $200 after the end of school vacation in September. This happens despite the fact that generally worsening weather increases the cost of operating flights to Paris, and Air France therefore reduces the number of flights to Paris at any given price.
4.Show in a diagram the effect on the demand curve, the supply curve, the equilibrium price, and the equilibrium quantity of each of the following events on the designated market.
- a. the market for newspapers in your town
- Case 1: The salaries of journalists go up.
- Case 2:
- There is a big news event in your town, which is reported in the newspapers, and residents want to learn more about it.
- b. the market for St. Louis Rams cotton T-
shirts - Case 1: The Rams win the championship.
- Case 2: The price of cotton increases.
- c. the market for bagels
- Case 1: People realize how fattening bagels are.
- Case 2: People have less time to make themselves a cooked breakfast.
5.Find the flaws in reasoning in the following statements, paying particular attention to the distinction between changes in and movements along the supply and demand curves. Draw a diagram to illustrate what actually happens in each situation.
- a. “A technological innovation that lowers the cost of producing a good might seem at first to result in a reduction in the price of the good to consumers. But a fall in price will increase demand for the good, and higher demand will send the price up again. It is not certain, therefore, that an innovation will really reduce price in the end.”
- b. “A study shows that eating a clove of garlic a day can help prevent heart disease, causing many consumers to demand more garlic. This increase in demand results in a rise in the price of garlic. Consumers, seeing that the price of garlic has gone up, reduce their demand for garlic. This causes the demand for garlic to decrease and the price of garlic to fall. Therefore, the ultimate effect of the study on the price of garlic is uncertain.”
6.In Rolling Stone magazine, several fans and rock stars, including Pearl Jam, were bemoaning the high price of concert tickets. One superstar argued, “It just isn’t worth $75 to see me play. No one should have to pay that much to go to a concert.” Assume this star sold out arenas around the country at an average ticket price of $75.
- a. How would you evaluate the argument that ticket prices are too high?
- b. Suppose that due to this star’s protests, ticket prices were lowered to $50. In what sense is this price too low? Draw a diagram using supply and demand curves to support your argument.
- c. Suppose Pearl Jam really wanted to bring down ticket prices. Since the band controls the supply of its services, what do you recommend they do? Explain using a supply and demand diagram.
- d. Suppose the band’s next CD was a total dud. Do you think they would still have to worry about ticket prices being too high? Why or why not? Draw a supply and demand diagram to support your argument.
- e. Suppose the group announced their next tour was going to be their last. What effect would this likely have on the demand for and price of tickets? Illustrate with a supply and demand diagram.
7.After several years of decline, the market for handmade acoustic guitars is making a comeback. These guitars, which are normal goods, are usually made in small workshops employing relatively few highly skilled luthiers. Assess the impact on the equilibrium price and quantity of handmade acoustic guitars as a result of each of the following events. In your answers, indicate which curve(s) shift(s) and in which direction.
- a. Environmentalists succeed in having the use of Brazilian rosewood banned in the United States, forcing luthiers to seek out alternative, more costly woods.
- b. A foreign producer reengineers the guitar-
making process and floods the market with identical guitars. - c. Music featuring handmade acoustic guitars makes a comeback as audiences tire of heavy metal and grunge music.
- d. The country goes into a deep recession and the income of the average American falls sharply.
8.Will Shakespeare is a struggling playwright in sixteenth-
- a. The playwright Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare’s chief rival, is killed in a bar brawl.
- b. The bubonic plague, a deadly infectious disease, breaks out in London.
- c. To celebrate the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Queen Elizabeth declares several weeks of festivities, which involves commissioning new plays.
9.The small town of Middling experiences a sudden doubling of the birth rate. After three years, the birth rate returns to normal. Use a diagram to illustrate the effect of these events on the following:
- a. the market for an hour of babysitting services in Middling today
- b. the market for an hour of babysitting services 14 years into the future, after the birth rate has returned to normal, by which time children born today are old enough to work as babysitters
- c. the market for an hour of babysitting services 30 years into the future, when children born today are likely to be having children of their own
10.Use a diagram to illustrate how each of the following events affects the equilibrium price and quantity of pizza.
- a. The price of mozzarella cheese rises.
- b. The health hazards of hamburgers are widely publicized.
- c. The price of tomato sauce falls.
- d. The incomes of consumers rise and pizza is an inferior good.
- e. Consumers expect the price of pizza to fall next week.
11.Although he was a prolific artist, Pablo Picasso painted only 1,000 canvases during his “Blue Period.” Picasso is now dead, and all of his Blue Period works are currently on display in museums and private galleries throughout Europe and the United States.
- a. Draw a supply curve for Picasso Blue Period works. Why is this supply curve different from ones you have seen?
- b. Given the supply curve from part a, the price of a Picasso Blue Period work will be entirely dependent on what factor(s)? Draw a diagram showing how the equilibrium price of such a work is determined.
- c. Suppose that rich art collectors decide that it is essential to acquire Picasso Blue Period art for their collections. Show the impact of this on the market for these paintings.
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