The loud music coming from the sorority next to your dorm is a negative externality that can be directly quantified. The accompanying table shows the marginal social benefit and the marginal social cost per decibel (dB, a measure of volume) of music.
What is the socially optimal volume of music? (Hint: It may help to draw a graph.)
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Only the members of the sorority benefit from the music, and they bear none of the cost. Which volume of music will they choose?
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The college imposes a Pigouvian tax of $3 per decibel of music played. Determine the volume of music the sorority will now choose.
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