0. 6 Supply, Demand, and Government Policies P R I N C I P L E S O F
F O U R T H E D I T I O N
The new material introduced in this chapter builds on the material from the preceding two chapters (chapter 4 on supply & demand and chapter 5 on elasticity). Students who learned those chapters well usually do not have much difficulty with the material in chapter 6. This chapter can usually be covered in about 90 minutes of class time.
I have combined the analysis of price ceilings with the rent control example, and I’ve combined the analysis of price floors with the minimum wage example. (In contrast, the textbook presents a generic analysis of price ceilings, then the rent control example, then a generic analysis of price floors, then the minimum wage). Most students learn new concepts better in the context of a specific example rather than a generic analysis, and combining them in this way saves class time.
Here’s an idea you might consider:
At the end of the class session just prior to the one in which you begin to cover this chapter, ask students to take out a piece of blank paper, and write down whether they think the minimum wage should be increased, and their reason(s). Tell them not to write their names (you want them to be candid), and have them leave their pieces of paper in a pile as they exit the classroom. Later, divide the papers into two groups based on whether they support or oppose increasing the minimum wage. In this PowerPoint file, immediately after this slide, insert new two slides, titling them “Your reasons for raising the minimum wage” and “Your reasons for not raising the minimum wage.” Summarize on each slide the most common reasons students gave. Begin the class session by showing them the results of this impromptu survey (how many students responded each way, and the most common reasons). Tell those students that support a minimum wage increase that their thinking represents that of many educated non-economists. But tell them that economics offers another perspective, and this is something they will learn in this chapter.
If you do this, then I recommend rearranging the slides a bit so that the price floor/minimum wage slides come BEFORE the price ceiling/rent control slides.

1. Government Intervention in Markets: Motivation and Economic Consequences
Price ceilings to help consumers:
-- rent control (selected urban areas)
Price floors to help producers or households:
-- farm price supports, minimum wage law, mandated “time and one half” wage for overtime hours
Taxes:
-- to raise revenue
-- to reduce amount sold of goods
-- as “user charge” for consuming a good or service
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2. How does government market intervention affect markets and how do we evaluate such policies?
What are the economic consequences of market intervention? What are the costs and benefits?
What is the incidence of a tax? Who pays a tax? What determines the incidence?
THE BIG ISSUE: Intervention in competitive markets affects how the market system performs, with consequences often affecting buyers, sellers, and multiple markets. Is there a compelling public interest to warrant the intervention?
When we talk about how a policy “affects the market outcome,” we mean the policy’s impact on the price and quantity, and therefore the allocation of resources. This chapter’s concluding slide elaborates on this a bit.
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3. Government Policies That Regulate Prices
Price controls
Price ceiling: a legal maximum on the price of a good or service. Example: rent control.
Price floor: a legal minimum on the price of a good or service. Example: minimum wage.
Rent control in College Park: A good idea?
Predicted effects?
This slide presents an outline of the chapter.
We will use the supply/demand model to see how each policy affects the market outcome (the price buyers pay, the price sellers receive, and eq’m quantity).
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4. EXAMPLE 1: The Market for ApartmentsQ
Rental price of apts S D
$800
300
Eq’m w/o price controls
We start by analyzing the effects of a price ceiling. The most common example is rent control, so we do the analysis in the context of this example.
We begin by showing the market for apartments in equilibrium (before the government imposes any price controls).
Quantity of apartments
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5. How Price Ceilings Affect Market Outcomes
The eq’m price ($800) is above the ceiling and therefore illegal.
The ceiling is a binding constraint on the price, and causes a shortage. P Q S D
$800
Price ceiling
$500
250
400
shortage
In this case, the price ceiling is binding.
In the new equilibrium with the price ceiling, the actual price (rent) of an apartment will be $500. It won’t be more than that, because any higher price is illegal. It won’t be less than $500, because the shortage would be even larger if the price were lower.
The actual quantity of apartments rented equals 250, and there is a shortage equal to 150 (the difference between the quantity demanded, 400, and the quantity supplied, 250.
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6. How Price Ceilings Affect Market OutcomesQ
In the long run, supply and demand are more price-elastic.
So, the shortage is larger. S D
$800
Price ceiling
$500
shortage
In this slide, the equilibrium price ($800) and price ceiling ($500) are the same as on the preceding slides, but supply and demand are more price-elastic than before, and the shortage that results from a binding price ceiling is larger.
150
450
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7. Shortages and Rationing
With a shortage, sellers must ration the goods among buyers.
Some rationing mechanisms: (1) long lines (2) discrimination according to sellers’ biases
These mechanisms are often unfair, and inefficient: the goods don’t necessarily go to the buyers who value them most highly.
In contrast, when prices are not controlled, the rationing mechanism is efficient (the goods go to the buyers that value them most highly) and impersonal (and thus fair).
The last two bullet points discuss “efficiency” in the context of rationing goods to those buyers who value them most highly. This concept will be explored further in the following chapter.
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8. Price ceilings and Supply Adjustments
Supply adjustments to price regulation reflects decisions of sellers, who are driven by profit maximization – adjusting their capital investments based on profitability. Government price controls typically do not keep sellers from exiting a market (removing their capital!).
In housing, supply adjustments include:
(a) selling units to owner-occupants
(b) reducing the quality of the unit to fit the price – essentially ‘shifting’ the unit to another market.
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9. History of the Minimum Wage
Enacted cents/hr, to provide minimum income level for working. Initial level about 35% of the average manufacturing wage.
Increased periodically, reached 50% of ave. manu. Wage in 1970, but then fewer increases, and real value of minimum wage declined since 1980’s. Now about 32% of ave. manu. Wage.
Wage has remained at $5.15/hr since Real value of minimum wage declined since 1980’s.
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10. Debate over the Minimum Wage
Arguments supporting the minimum wage: fundamental fairness to workers; promotes work; present wage level does not keep a worker out of poverty even if working full time.
Opponents of a higher wage: loss of jobs and unemployment among unskilled; lost work by teenagers deprives teenagers of experience and commitment to work; financial burden on small businesses; higher labor costs increases prices
Democrats vs Republicans on this issue?
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11. EXAMPLE 2: The Market for Unskilled LaborW L
Wage paid to unskilled workers S D $4
500
Eq’m w/o price controls
Now we switch gears and look at the effects of a price floor. We illustrate this concept using the common textbook example – the minimum wage.
This may be the first time students have seen a supply-demand diagram of the labor market. It might be useful to note that the “price” of labor is more commonly known as the wage, which we measure on the vertical axis of our supply-demand diagram. Along the horizontal axis, we measure the quantity of labor (number of workers). The demand for unskilled labor comes from firms. The supply comes from workers.
We focus on unskilled labor because the minimum wage is not relevant for higher skilled, higher wage workers.
Quantity of unskilled workers
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12. How Price Floors Affect Market Outcomes Non-binding in a high income suburb
A price floor below the eq’m price is not binding – it has no effect on the market outcome.
Many states have set wages ABOVE the federal minimum. W L S D
$7.00
500
Price floor
$5.15
Some students see this and wonder why the $3 price floor does not cause a shortage. After all, at a wage of $3, the quantity of unskilled workers that firms wish to hire exceeds the quantity of unskilled workers that are looking for jobs.
But the minimum wage law does not stop the wage from rising above $3. So, in response to this shortage, the wage will rise until the shortage evaporates – which occurs at the equilibrium wage of $4. The equilibrium wage is perfectly legal when the price floor (i.e. minimum wage) is below it.
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13. How Price Floors Affect Market Outcomes
labor surplus
The eq’m wage ($4) is below the floor and therefore illegal.
The floor is a binding constraint on the wage, and causes a surplus (i.e., less employment). W L S
Price floor
$5.15 D
400
550 $4
Now, the minimum wage exceeds the equilibrium wage. The equilibrium wage (or any wage below $5) is illegal.
In this case, the actual wage will be $5. It will not be lower, because any lower wage is illegal. It will not be higher, because at any higher wage, the surplus would be even greater. The actual number of unskilled workers with jobs equals want jobs, but firms are only willing to hire 400, leaving a surplus (i.e. unemployment) of 150 workers.
A surplus of anything – especially labor – represents wasted resources.
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14. Debate about the Effects
Republicans typically oppose, stressing job losses and burden on small businesses. Republican congressional opposition since 1998, Senate opposing an increase 11 times since.
Democrats typically argue for an increase.
In 2006, Republicans combined increase to $7.25 over three years with an extension of estate tax reductions past expecting Democrats to accept estate tax reductions as part of deal to raise minimum wage. Democrats vote against. In 2007, bill held up over disagreement on including tax breaks for small businesses.
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15. Empirical Evidence
Evidence from many studies of demand and supply curves for labor. Studies of impacts when states have altered their minimum wages, that provides evidence of policy change.
Evidence suggests elasticity is low, .1 to .2, hence job loss would be limited. Inelastic labor demand implies total wage earnings increases (though fewer work!).
Increasing the minimum wage will also increase the wages of a larger group of workers whose skills and wages are somewhat above the minimum wage worker.
Higher wage costs shift the supply curve of producers, hence prices increase in product markets.
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16. Evaluating Price Controls
Recall one of the Ten Principles: Markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity.
Prices are the signals that guide the allocation of society’s resources. This allocation is altered when policymakers restrict prices.
Price controls are often intended to help the poor, but evaluation of such policies must consider all the consequences and how markets adapt! Economists typically look for a ‘compelling’ public interest to justify intervention in markets.
It might be worth reminding students that our analysis has been in the context of a world without market failures. Subsequent chapters (except in the macro split) will introduce situations in which government intervention in the price system can improve on the private market outcome. However, even in such cases, the appropriate policy is usually something other than a direct price control.
The 4th edition adds an excellent new In the News box with an article on rent control from The Economist. Please encourage your students to check it out.
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17. Taxes
The government levies taxes on many goods & services. Taxes are a source of revenue, and also used to reduce or discourage consumption of selected goods or services. (e.g. cigarette taxes).
The tax can be a percentage of the good’s price, or a specific amount for each unit sold.
For simplicity, we analyze per-unit taxes only.
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18. Illustrative Excise (Sales) Taxes
Federal excise taxes:
Federal gas tax: 18 cents/gallon
Cigarette tax: 39 cents/pack
Beer tax: $18/barrel. (How much for one beer?)
Wine tax: $1.07/gallon
State cigarette taxes: Rhode Island $2.46/pack
New Jersey
Maryland (19th)1.00
Virginia (.30), N.Car., Kentucky, Tenn., Mississippi, Missouri, S.Car (.07)lowest.
Maryland alcohol tax among lowest: $.09/gallon of beer!
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19. Politics Behind Tax Policy
Federal excise taxes: current level vs. level if adjusted for inflation since 1951!
Current If Adjusted
Beer $18/barrell $55.88
Wine $1.57/gallon $4.16
Spirits $12.50/gallon $65.19
Maryland taxes: beer tax last raised in Raising Md taxes to national average raises tax revenue by $14 million, from current $23 million level.
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20. The Incidence (who pays) of a tax
The government can impose taxes on either the buyer or seller.
The “statutory incidence” of a tax is the economic agent who is legally responsible to pay the tax.
The “economic incidence’ of a tax is the final distribution of the tax burden between buyer and seller.
Tax shifting occurs in most cases, as the burden of a tax is shared between buyer and seller, even though only one pays.
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21. EXAMPLE 3: The Market for Pizza
Eq’m w/o tax P Q D1 S1
$10.00
500
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22. Effects of a $1.50 per unit tax on buyers
A Tax on Buyers
A tax on buyers shifts the D curve down by the amount of the tax.
Effects of a $1.50 per unit tax on buyers P Q D1 S1
$11.00
PB = D2
Tax
430
$10.00
500
$9.50
PS =
The price buyers pay rises, the price sellers receive falls, eq’m Q falls.
NOTE: On this and subsequent slides, “PB” is the price buyers pay and “PS” is the price sellers receive. (The chapter 8 PowerPoint uses the same notation for the welfare analysis of taxes.)
The government makes buyers pay a $1.50 on each pizza they purchase. The new demand curve (in red, labeled D2) reflects buyers’ demand as a function of the after-tax price. The original demand curve (D1) still reflects buyers’ demand as a function of the total price – inclusive of the tax.
Thus, buyers’ demand hasn’t really changed: At each quantity, the height of the original (blue) D curve is still the maximum that buyers will pay for that quantity, while the height of the new (red) D curve is the maximum that buyers will pay sellers for that quantity, given that buyers also must pay the tax. At any Q, the vertical distance between the blue and red D curves equals the tax.
Incidentally, if this were a percentage tax rather than a per-unit tax, then the new D curve would not be parallel to the old one, it would be flatter: a tax of a given percentage would be a larger dollar amount at high prices than at low prices, so the downward shift would be greater in absolute terms when P is high than when it is low.
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23. The Incidence of a Tax:
how the burden of a tax is shared among market participants P Q
Because of the tax, buyers pay $1.00 more,
sellers get $0.50 less. D1 S1
$11.00
PB = D2
Tax
430
$10.00
500
$9.50
PS =
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24. Effects of a $1.50 per unit tax on sellers
A Tax on Sellers
A tax on sellers shifts the S curve up by the amount of the tax.
Effects of a $1.50 per unit tax on sellers P Q S2 D1 S1
$11.00
PB =
Tax
430
$10.00
500
$9.50
PS =
The price buyers pay rises, the price sellers receive falls, eq’m Q falls.
The government makes sellers pay a $1.50 on each pizza they sell. The new, red supply curve reflects sellers’ supply as a function of the after-tax price.
Here’s a way to think about the shift that students might find helpful: Making sellers pay a $1.50 tax on each unit they sell is equivalent to a $1.50 increase in the cost of producing each pizza. As students learned in chapter 4, anything that increases production costs causes the S curve to shift up: In order for sellers to be willing to supply the same quantity as before, they must receive a higher price to compensate them for the increase in their costs.
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25. The Outcome Is the Same in Both Cases!
The effects on P and Q, and the tax incidence are the same whether the tax is imposed on buyers or sellers! P Q
What matters is this:
A tax drives a wedge between the price buyers pay and the price sellers receive. D1 S1
PB =
$11.00
Tax
$10.00
500
PS =
$9.50
Whether the government makes buyers or sellers pay the tax, the effects are the same:
- the price buyers pay rises (in this case to $11)
- the price sellers receive falls (to $9.50)
- the equilibrium quantity falls (to 430)
- the incidence of the tax is the same (here, buyers pay $1 of the tax, while sellers pay $.50 of the tax on each unit)
This should make sense if students think it through: A tax on buyers means buyers will have to pay more, which causes their demand to fall. The fall in demand hurts sellers, forcing them to reduce their price. Similarly, a tax on sellers is like a cost increase, and sellers pass along a portion of that increase to buyers in the form of higher prices.
The equivalence of taxes on buyers and taxes on sellers means that we can ignore whether the tax is imposed on buyers or sellers. All that matters is the size of the tax.
So, in future problems, we can think of the tax as a wedge between the price buyers pay and the price sellers receive. On a supply-demand diagram, this wedge is a vertical line segment (shown in green on this graph). You can think of taking a toothpick the size of the tax and wedging it between the S and D curves. The quantity at which the toothpick fits just snuggly is the new equilibrium quantity. Students will have a chance to practice this in a moment with an exercise.
One last remark: Someone once said “if you want less of something, tax it.” A tax on any good or service causes a fall in its quantity. This is because people respond to incentives, and the tax gives buyers an incentive to buy less, and sellers an incentive to produce less.
430
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26. A C T I V E L E A R N I N G 2: Effects of a taxQ P S
The market for hotel rooms D
Suppose govt imposes a tax on buyers of $30 per room.
Find new Q, PB, PS, and incidence of tax. 26

27. A C T I V E L E A R N I N G 2: AnswersQ P S
The market for hotel rooms D
Q = 80
PB = $110
PB =
Tax
PS = $80
PS =
Incidence
buyers: $10
sellers: $20 27

28. Elasticity and Tax Incidence
CASE 1: Supply is more elastic than demand
In this case, buyers bear most of the burden of the tax. Why? Demand is inelastic –i.e. ‘I’ll pay any price!’ P Q D PB S
Buyers’ share of tax burden
Tax
Price if no tax
Sellers’ share of tax burden PS
We have just seen that tax incidence is not affected by whether the government makes buyers or sellers pay the tax. So what, then, does determine tax incidence? Turns out it’s elasticity – specifically, the price elasticities of supply and demand.
There are two cases: 1) supply is more price-elastic than demand (this slide), and 2) demand is more price-elastic than supply (next slide).
When supply is more price-elastic than demand, sellers are relatively more responsive to changes in price, and the supply curve is less steep than the demand curve. Buyers have relatively fewer alternatives, so they have to “eat” most of the price increase caused by the imposition of the tax.
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29. Elasticity and Tax Incidence
CASE 2: Demand is more elastic than supply P Q
In this case, sellers bear most of the burden of the tax. Why? Elastic supply: sellers do not cut back! S D
Buyers’ share of tax burden PB
Tax
Price if no tax
Sellers’ share of tax burden
The size of the tax is the same in this diagram as in the one on the preceding slide.
When demand is more price-elastic than supply, buyers are relatively more price-sensitive, and the demand curve is less steep than the supply curve. Buyers have relatively more alternatives, so they can avoid most of the tax. Sellers are less flexible, so they have to “eat” a greater share of the price increase caused by the tax. PS
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30. Elasticity and Tax Incidence
If buyers’ price elasticity > sellers’ price elasticity, buyers can more easily leave the market when the tax is imposed, so buyers will bear a smaller share of the burden of the tax than sellers.
If sellers’ price elasticity > buyers’ price elasticity, the reverse is true.
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31. CASE STUDY: Who Pays the Luxury Tax?
1990: Congress adopted a luxury tax on yachts, private airplanes, furs, expensive cars, etc.
Goal of the tax: to raise revenue from those who could most easily afford to pay – wealthy consumers.
But who really pays this tax?
This case study comes right from the book. If you’re pressed for time, you can delete it and let students read it on their own. It does not introduce any new concepts, and most students do not find it difficult.
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32. CASE STUDY: Who Pays the Luxury Tax?
The market for yachts
Demand is price-elastic. P Q S
In the short run, supply is inelastic. D
Buyers’ share of tax burden PB
Tax
Hence, companies that build yachts pay most of the tax.
Sellers’ share of tax burden
Demand for yachts (and other luxury items) is price-elastic: if the price of yachts rises, rich consumers can easily avoid the tax by spending their millions on some other luxury item.
Supply of yachts is less elastic, especially in the short run. It is difficult for the companies that build yachts to re-tool their factories and reeducate their workers to produce some other product.
Hence, companies that build yachts (and companies that sell other luxury items) pay most of the tax, and the rich pay relatively little of it. PS
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33. CONCLUSION: Government Policies and the Allocation of Resources
Each of the policies in this chapter affects the allocation of society’s resources.
Example 1: a tax on pizza reduces the eq’m quantity of pizza.
Since the economy is producing fewer pizzas, some resources (workers, ovens, cheese) will become available to other industries.
Example 2: a binding minimum wage causes a surplus of workers, a waste of resources.
So, it’s important for policymakers to apply such policies very carefully.
Recall one of the 10 principles from chapter 1: Markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity. This means that, in absence of market failures (which we will learn more about in later chapters), the allocation of resources resulting from the free market equilibrium is optimal. Hence, government policies which alter this allocation tend to make the economy worse off.
When we study market failures later, we will see that government policies can – in principle – improve on the market’s allocation of resources, and make society better off.
First, though, we need to learn how to measure the impact of government policies like taxes on society’s well-being, as well as define what, exactly, we mean by “well-being.” This field of study, called “welfare economics,” is the topic of the next three chapters.
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34. CHAPTER SUMMARY
A price ceiling is a legal maximum on the price of a good. An example is rent control. If the price ceiling is below the eq’m price, it is binding and causes a shortage.
A price floor is a legal minimum on the price of a good. An example is the minimum wage. If the price floor is above the eq’m price, it is binding and causes a surplus. The labor surplus caused by the minimum wage is unemployment.
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35. CHAPTER SUMMARY
A tax on a good places a wedge between the price buyers pay and the price sellers receive, and causes the eq’m quantity to fall, whether the tax is imposed on buyers or sellers.
The incidence of a tax is the division of the burden of the tax between buyers and sellers, and does not depend on whether the tax is imposed on buyers or sellers.
The incidence of the tax depends on the price elasticities of supply and demand.
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