3.
Which of the following government interventions in market forces is most likely to cause overproduction?
A.
Price floors
B.
Price ceilings
C.
Imposing an additional per-unit tax $1 on sellers
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Ans: A; lawmakers make it illegal to buy or sell a good or service below a certain price, which is above equilibrium, which is called price floor. When the price imposed, buyers would like to purchase less but sellers are willing to sell more, so it causes overproduction.
B is incorrect; sometimes, lawmakers determine that the market price is “too high” for consumers to pay, so they use their power to impose a ceiling on price below the market equilibrium price, which is called price ceiling. When the price imposed, buyers would like to purchase more but sellers are willing to sell less, so there is a short in production.
C is incorrect; tax on sellers will cause the supply because move to left, and then have a higher equilibrium price. But demand and supply are still the same. |