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Chapter 8
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The Costs of Taxation
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The Costs of Taxation
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The Effects of a Tax...
Price
Supply
Price buyers Size of tax
pay
Price
without tax
Price sellers
receive
Demand
0 Quantity Quantity Quantity
with tax without tax
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
The Effects of a Tax
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Tax Revenue
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Tax Revenue...
Price
Supply
Price buyers Size of tax (T)
pay
Tax
Revenue
(T x Q)
Price sellers
receive
Quantity
sold (Q) Demand
0 Quantity Quantity Quantity
with tax without tax
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
How a Tax Affects Welfare...
Price Tax reduces consumer surplus by (B+C)
and producer surplus by (D+E)
Price
Tax revenue = (B+D)
buyers A Supply
pay = PB
B
Price C
without = P1 Deadweight Loss = (C+E)
tax D E
Price = PS
sellers F
receive Demand
0 Q2 Q1 Quantity
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Changes in Welfare
from a Tax
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How a Tax Affects Welfare
The change in total welfare includes:
The change in consumer surplus,
The change in producer surplus,
The change in tax revenue.
The losses to buyers and sellers exceed
the revenue raised by the government.
This fall in total surplus is called the
deadweight loss.
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Deadweight Losses and the
Gains from Trade
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The Deadweight Loss...
Price
Lost gains
from trade
Supply
PB
PS
Cost to
sellers Demand
Value to
buyers
0 Q2 Q1 Quantity
Reduction in quantity due to the tax
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Determinants of Deadweight
Loss
What determines whether the deadweight loss
from a tax is large or small?
The magnitude of the deadweight loss
depends on how much the quantity supplied
and quantity demanded respond to changes
in the price.
That, in turn, depends on the price
elasticities of supply and demand.
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Tax Distortions and
Elasticities... (a) Inelastic Supply
Price Supply
When supply is
relatively inelastic,
the deadweight loss
of a tax is small.
Size
of tax
Demand
Quantity
0
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Tax Distortions and Elasticities...
(b) Elastic Supply
Price
When supply is
relatively elastic,
the deadweight loss
of a tax is large.
Supply
Size
of tax
Demand
Quantity
0
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Tax Distortions and Elasticities...
Supply
Size
of tax When demand is
relatively inelastic,
the deadweight loss
of a tax is small.
Demand
Quantity
0
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Tax Distortions and Elasticities...
Supply
Size
of tax
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Determinants of Deadweight
Loss
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The Deadweight Loss Debate
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The Deadweight Loss Debate
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Deadweight Loss and Tax Revenue...
(a) Small Tax
Price
Supply
Deadweight
loss
PB
Tax revenue
PS
Demand
0 Q2 Q1 Quantity
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Deadweight Loss and Tax Revenue...
PS
Demand
0 Q2 Q1 Quantity
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Deadweight Loss and Tax Revenue...
Demand
PS
0 Q2 Q1 Quantity
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Deadweight Loss and Tax
Revenue
For the small tax, tax revenue is
small.
As the size of the tax rises, tax
revenue grows.
But as the size of the tax continues to
rise, tax revenue falls because the
higher tax reduces the size of the
market.
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Deadweight Loss and Tax Revenue
Vary with the Size of the Tax...
(a) Deadweight Loss
Deadweight
Loss
0
Tax Size
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Deadweight Loss and Tax Revenue
Vary with the Size of the Tax...
0 Tax Size
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Deadweight Loss and Tax Revenue
Vary with the Size of the Tax
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The Laffer Curve and
Supply-Side Economics
The Laffer curve depicts the relationship
between tax rates and tax revenue.
Supply-side economics refers to the views
of Reagan and Laffer who proposed that
a tax cut would induce more people to
work and thereby have the potential to
increase tax revenues.
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Summary
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Summary
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Summary
Taxes have a deadweight loss
because they cause buyers to
consume less and sellers to produce
less.
This change in behavior shrinks the
size of the market below the level
that maximizes total surplus.
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Summary
As a tax grows larger, it distorts
incentives more, and its deadweight
loss grows larger.
Tax revenue first rises with the size of
a tax.
Eventually, however, a larger tax
reduces tax revenue because it
reduces the size of the market.
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Graphical
Review
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The Effects of a Tax...
Price
Supply
Price buyers Size of tax
pay
Price
without tax
Price sellers
receive
Demand
0 Quantity Quantity Quantity
with tax without tax
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Tax Revenue...
Price
Supply
Price buyers Size of tax (T)
pay
Tax
Revenue
(T x Q)
Price sellers
receive
Quantity
sold (Q) Demand
0 Quantity Quantity Quantity
with tax without tax
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
How a Tax Affects Welfare...
Price Tax reduces consumer surplus by (B+C)
and producer surplus by (D+E)
Price
Tax revenue = (B+D)
buyers A Supply
pay = PB
B
Price C
without = P1 Deadweight Loss = (C+E)
tax D E
Price = PS
sellers F
receive Demand
0 Q2 Q1 Quantity
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
The Deadweight Loss...
Price
Lost gains
from trade
Supply
PB
PS
Cost to
sellers Demand
Value to
buyers
0 Q2 Q1 Quantity
Reduction in quantity due to the tax
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Tax Distortions and
Elasticities... (a) Inelastic Supply
Price Supply
When supply is
relatively inelastic,
the deadweight loss
of a tax is small.
Size
of tax
Demand
Quantity
0
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Tax Distortions and Elasticities...
(b) Elastic Supply
Price
When supply is
relatively elastic,
the deadweight loss
of a tax is large.
Supply
Size
of tax
Demand
Quantity
0
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Tax Distortions and Elasticities...
Supply
Size
of tax When demand is
relatively inelastic,
the deadweight loss
of a tax is small.
Demand
Quantity
0
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Tax Distortions and Elasticities...
Supply
Size
of tax
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Deadweight Loss and Tax Revenue...
(a) Small Tax
Price
Supply
Deadweight
loss
PB
Tax revenue
PS
Demand
0 Q2 Q1 Quantity
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Deadweight Loss and Tax Revenue...
PS
Demand
0 Q2 Q1 Quantity
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Deadweight Loss and Tax Revenue...
Demand
PS
0 Q2 Q1 Quantity
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Deadweight Loss and Tax Revenue
Vary with the Size of the Tax...
(a) Deadweight Loss
Deadweight
Loss
0
Tax Size
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Deadweight Loss and Tax Revenue
Vary with the Size of the Tax...
0 Tax Size
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.