ECON 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: United States House Committee On Oversight And Government Reform, Laffer Curve

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harlequinmarten109

10 Dec 2015

School

University of Maryland

Department

Economics

Course

ECON 200

Professor

Erin Moody

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Document Summary

What do they do: raise revenue, and change behavior! Lump-sum/head tax: tax charging the same amount to each payer: this is a very efficient tax! Efficiency vs. equity: know the difference for each type of tax, some work in countries and some decrease the economy"s efficiency. Laffer curve: shows how for a certain time more taxes raises revenue, however as more taxes are put in place revenue will decrease. Types of administering taxes: proportional: tax taking the same percentage of income from all tax, progressive: low-income people are taxed less than high-income payers people people. For example, the corporate income tax: regressive: low-income people are taxed more than high-income. Examples of this include fica and the payroll tax. Payroll tax: tax on wages paid to an employee: this is used to pay for social security and medicare. Excise tax: tax on a specific good or service. Sales tax: tax on the value of a good that is sold.

Related Questions

Topic:
How would you explain the finding that people in high-income economies seem happier than people in low-income economies, but, over time, people in high-income economies do not seem to be any happier even if their country grows richer? Briefly discuss.

Optional Reading:

Income and Happiness

The Declaration of Independence in 1776 identified âcertain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.â This did not guarantee happiness but did establish the pursuit of happiness as an âunalienableâ right, meaning that right cannot be taken away, given away, or sold. Eighteenth century philosopher and social reformer Jeremy Bentham argued that government policy should promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

Many people today apparently agree. In recent polls, 77 percent of Australians and 81 percent of Brits believed that a government's prime objective should be promoting the greatest happiness rather than the greatest wealth. The United Nations in 2007 sponsored an international conference on âHappiness and Public Policy.â Thailand now compiles a monthly Gross Domestic Happiness Index. Even China has joined in the fun reporting a happiness index based on polling results about living conditions, income, the environment, social welfare, and employment. Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom are also developing happiness indexes.

Economists have long shied away from asking people how they feel, preferring instead to observe their behavior. But more now see some value in asking questions. In the most extensive of polls, the Gallup organization asked people in 130 countries: âHow satisfied are you with your life, on a scale of zero to ten?â The results, reported in 2007, are not surprising. Most people in the high income areas, such as the United States, Europe, and Japan, said they are happy. Most people in the poor areas, especially in Africa, said they are not. Also, within a given country, income and happiness are positively related. After evaluating all the results of the Gallup world poll, Angus Deaton of Princeton concluded: âThe very strong international relationship between per capita GDP and life satisfaction suggests that, on average, people have a good idea of how income, or the lack of it, affects their lives.â 8

So these results are no surprise. What does puzzle economists is that other surveys suggest that in affluent countries people do not seem any happier over time even though each generation became richer than the last. For example, in the United States, the proportion of people who say they are happy has stayed about the same despite 60 years of economic growth. In Japan, happiness responses actually declined despite a substantial increase in real income over the last 50 years.

Here are two possible explanations. First, people begin taking for granted those luxuries they most desired. For example, two generations ago color TVs, automobiles, and major appliances were luxuries, but now they are must-items for most households. Computers and flat screen HDTVs will soon move from luxuries to necessities. As each generation attains a higher standard of living, people become less sensitive to the benefits, they take them for granted, and thus they say they are no happier.

Second, research suggests that what matters is not just the absolute level of income but income relative other people in the reference group. Imagine you have a choice between (1) earning $50,000 a year while others in your reference group make $25,000 or (2) earning $100,000 a year while others make $250,000 (suppose, too, that prices remain the same, so $100,000 is double the real income of $50,000). Which would you prefer? Studies show that when people face this hypothetical choice, most pick the $50,000 option. That is, they prefer to make more than others even if that means a lower real income. Thus, if all incomes rise on average over time, this does not affect that aspect of happiness linked to oneâs relative standing. As the social critic H. L. Mencken long ago observed, "A wealthy man is one who earns $100 a year more than his wife's sister's husband."

SOURCES: Daniel Gilbert, Stumbling On Happiness, (New York: Knopf, 2006); Marina Kamenev, âRating Countries for the Happiness Factor,â Business Week, 11 October 2006; Angus Deaton, âIncome, Aging, Health, and Wellbeing Around the World: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll,â Princeton Working Paper, (August 2007); and âWhere Money Seems to Talk,â Economist, 12 July 200

1. Which of the following is an example of the source function of the environment?

A. Trees absorb some of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity

B. Wetlands reduce the pollution levels in water

C. Winds carry air pollution away from a city

D. Humans harvest fish from the oceans

E. Bacteria break down discarded wastes

2. What is the primary external input into the broader ecological circular flow model?

A. Pollution

B. Solar energy

C. Fossil fuels

D. Geophysical cycles

E. Factors of production

3. What is the key reason that Malthusian predictions have not come true so far?

A. Increasing productivity per capita

B. Increasing population

C. Increasing natural capital

D. Increasing population density

E. Definition of property rights

4. Which one of the following statements is true regarding the rate of global population growth over the last 40 years?

A. Population has grown at a faster rate than agricultural production and energy use

B. Population has grown faster than energy use but not agricultural production

C. Population has grown faster than agricultural production but not energy use

D. Population, energy use, and agricultural production have all grown at about the same rate

E. Population has grown at a slower rate than agricultural production and energy use

5. Which one of the following is not a possible way to internalize externalities?

A. Eliminate government intervention

B. Raise taxes

C. Create subsidies

D. Create a system of tradable permits

E. Create new regulations

6. The efficient price of a license fee is determined by the difference between ...

A. Marginal revenue and marginal cost

B. Average revenue and marginal cost

C. Total revenue and total cost

D. Average revenue and total cost

E. Total revenue and marginal cost

7. Valuing environmental services based on estimating the value of different characteristics of market goods is called ...

A. Travel cost method

B. Contingent valuation

C. Hedonic pricing

D. Production function valuation

E. Avoided cost valuation

8. Which one of the following statements about national accounting is false?

A. Gross National Product does not account for natural capital depreciation

B. Net investment is gross investment minus depreciation

C. Capital depreciation accounts for wearing-out of human-made capital over time

D. A negative net investment implies a decline in national wealth

E. Net National Product does not account for capital depreciation

9. User costs will be incorporated into a market if ...

A. Interest rates are positive

B. Discount rates are zero

C. Resource owners foresee future shortages

D. Government intervention is eliminated

E. Discount rates are positive

10. Hotellingâs rule states that...

A. The net price of a resource is constant

B. The net price of a resource rises at a rate equal to the interest rate

C. The net price of a resource declines at a rate equal to the interest rate

D. The price of a resource depends on the allocation of property rights

E. The price of a resource is efficient as long as all user costs are internalized

11. Transferable permits are likely to result in less inefficiency, relative to a pollution tax, when...

A. The marginal costs of damage are steep and the marginal costs of pollution reduction are relatively stable

B. The marginal costs of damage are steep and the marginal costs of pollution reduction are steep

C. The marginal costs of damage are relatively stable and the marginal costs of pollution reduction are relatively stable

D. The marginal costs of damage are relatively stable and the marginal costs of pollution reduction are steep

E. The marginal costs of damage are elastic and the marginal costs of pollution reduction are also elastic

12. Which one of the following statements is false regarding a transferable pollution permit system?

A. Each firm will operate in an economically efficient manner

B. Total pollution levels in a region can be set by the government

C. The price of a permit will vary with changes in technology

D. The system is preferable to a pollution tax in all situations

E. Social benefits can be maximized

13. If a large percentage of people in a country are young, this is a sign that ...

A. The country has significant population momentum

B. The country is in the first stage of the demographic transition

C. The countryâs population will shortly stabilize

D. The countryâs population is declining

E. The country is in the last stage of the demographic transition

14. Which one of the following statements about the demographic transition theory is false?

A. Population levels are relatively stable in the first and last stages of the demographic transition

B. The demographic transition theory states that death rates will decrease before birth rates decrease

C. Many industrial countries have entered the third or fourth stage of the demographic transition

D. The demographic transition process has occurred at very different rates in different parts of the world

E. The demographic transition theory suggests that continued exponential population growth is possible with constant economic growth

15. Which one of the following policies would not reduce water use?

A. Full marginal-cost pricing

B. Microirrigation technology

C. Reusing wastewater for industrial uses

D. Subsidizing irrigation systems

E. Removing water subsidies

16. Which one of the following statements is false?

A. Carbon dioxide is a stock pollutant

B. Without the natural greenhouse effect, life could exist on earth

C. The atmosphere is an example of a global commons

D. Global carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have increased since the Industrial Revolution

E. Global climate change results from ozone layer depletion

17. Which one of the following statements regarding carbon taxes is false?

A. Carbon taxes would have the most impact on coal prices

B. Carbon taxes would reduce negative environmental externalities

C. Carbon taxes would not set the exact level of carbon emissions

D. The effect of a carbon tax depends on the elasticity of demand for fossil fuels

E. A revenue-neutral carbon tax implies an increase in income taxes and/or other taxes

18. The elasticity of demand for carbon-based fuel sources is ...

A. Low in the short term but higher in the long term

B. High in the short term but lower in the long term

C. High in both the long and short term

D. Low in both the long and short term

E. Zero in the short term and positive in the long term

19. Which one of the following statements is false?

A. The World Bank currently screens all projects for potential environmental impacts.

B. World Bank loans are often coupled with grants from other organizations

C. World Bank funding for environmental projects has steadily increased since 1994

D. World Bank projects include both a âbrownâ and a âgreenâ agenda

E. World Bank loans must eventually be repaid

20. Which one of the following statements is true?

A. Strong sustainability assumes that most resources can be substituted for one another

B. Strong sustainability is easier to achieve that weak sustainability

C. Instituting strong sustainability would require extensive government intervention in markets

D. Strong sustainability is supported by traditional economic theory

E. Strong sustainability dictates that no non-renewable resources be used

apricotcoyote943

Need help revising, and recommendation for a conclusion.

Throughout this paper is my understanding of what I have learned in class chapters 1-4, expressing my understanding and opinions. Economics is the study of how we deal with scarce resources. Microeconomics specially deals with business in the home country exclusively. This type of economics affects small businesses in the home country only. On the other hand, macroeconomics concerns our national welfare concerning trade and international business.

I believe that many things affect our economy on a microeconomics level. Things such as our understanding of our country in reflection to the world are very important. That is why we study ourselves before we study the macroeconomic principle of the world. Understanding ourselves is what microeconomics teaches us. Working from the inside out. The world is a place where there are differences in our wants and what we get. That is what makes items scarce. That is what positive economics is. Positive economics deals with what is and what we have. The other type of economics is called normative statements. This deals with what we should receive instead of what is and deserved to some extent. It's our scarce resources that determine our allocation of resources and how we use our resources and time. This is where opportunity costs come in, giving up something to do something. A successful business or country never ignores opportunity costs. We must ensure that we have a comparative advantage instead of the absolute advantage. Our resources must be used to achieve maximum output. Comparative is met when we have fewer opportunity costs to make some certain products than the other person or entity.

My initial understanding was scarcity was oil potentially running out, but we have so much of it that you can always find more with techniques such as fracking. Now it's obvious to me, one of our most scarce resources is time. You cannot avoid the 8,760 hours in a year. I understand that people have unlimited wants but limited resources. Everything has a cost and we must make a choice as we don't have unlimited farms, factories workers, etc. scarcity forces choices and this ties in with opportunity cost, for every gun made, a theft from the hungry is made. The opportunity cost not being used to feed the poor, but to make guns. And I find it easy to understand no one can have everything choices must be made on benefits. If I'm going to school, imp giving up making cash, as I'm giving up money for an education, I value education more. Scarcity is also related to the invisible hand. As it's an achievement that leads free markets and capitalism through competition for scarce resources.

My understanding of the invisible hand is a person neither intends to promote public interest and does not know how much he is promoting it. Only intending on his own gain. Without being his intention a person can be lead by the invisible hand to do good for society by pursuing one's own self-interest. Going into equity and efficiency the invisible hand does ensure both equity and efficiency. People work in their selfish ways to maximize profit while also contributing to the economy as a whole. It can also be argued that as the invisible hand wants to ensure efficiency, it cannot guarantee efficiency, because it can fail to produce an efficient allocation of resources, which in turn lead to a market failure. It can also be argued that it can't guarantee equity because not everyone gets a fair price. The way I like to remember efficiency is with a real-life example, like a reduction in the number of workers needed to produce a particular good for a particular amount. Equity refers to the ownership interest in an asset, for example, if a person owns a house with a market value of $800,000 and owes $100,000 on the mortgage leaving a $700,000 equity in the home.

It can be predicted that if the price of beef increases - ceteris paribus-the quantity of beef demanded by buys will decrease. In other words, if the price of beef increases, then the quantity of beef increases, then the quantity of beef demanded will decrease because all things have to be equal. In-class lecture thought me all other things remaining the same. Economists use ceteris paribus to determine the effect of a factor when all other factors have been held the same and helps simplify the study and get a more refined data set.

Economists deal with many issues that pertain to assuring that both a countries domestic output is efficient and that there is an effective trade balance. This means that there are a balance and limit on the amount of imports. Also, this means home production must be able to meet export demands. There are many factors that affect the production of goods and their effect on shifting the production possibilities frontier. This involves evaluating every detail including knowing the products and any close substitutes and compliments. It also involves knowing how an action or other external force will affect demand. This is called price elasticity; Substitutes are products that can replace any given product or service. An example of this would be Coke and Pepsi. The presence of substitutes affects price elasticity because if there are other options, then any change to the price or quality of the product will cause a shift of the demand curve. O course, price is a huge reason why the demand for a product decreases or increases yet it doesn't shift the curve because of the price only. This price change will cause a domino effect that will end with the shifting of the demand curve because it will cause an increase or decrease in demand of the substitute good if the price change is either lower or higher respectively. This price change serves as a catalyst that will change people's desire to spend more money on a more expensive product and that will instead choose to buy the substitute good for cheaper or buy more of the desired product. The change in the price of actual products will not shift the demand curve yet the change of the price of substitutes will because it serves to change people's purchasing behavior. On the other hand, compliments serve to boost demand when there is a decrease in price. The use of complementary goods is dependent upon another product. An example of this would be hot dogs and buns. If the price of hotdogs decreases then, conversely, the demand for hot dog buns will increase because of this change in price. In this scenario, the decrease in price will cause a positive shift in the demand curve because of people's desire and willingness to buy more buns. This is an example of a demand shifter. There are a few other demand shifters. The shifters of the demand curve are changes in expectations, disposable income, price of substitute goods and complements, tastes and preferences, and population size and composition. Changes in income affect the demand curve because if income is lower then people tend to save any extra income instead of wasting it. Disposable income is minimized and spending is lower. This also causes people to see a perceived value of things and distinguishing between what is necessary and what is a relative luxury. The lower the income, the higher the saving and avoidance to spend. An example of this would be if someone needs to buy some medication and it is relatively expensive, that doesn't mean that someone won't buy the medication just because it is expensive. It is necessary. Other factors that contribute to spending and demand are having a price ceiling and price floor. Having a price ceiling is a limit on the price of the product this is a government-imposed idea that is meant to protect consumers from unfair pricing and other conditions that may be malicious or obscure. This affects demand because if there is a price ceiling there is a limit on profit on a unit-to-unit basis. The other factor is the price floor. This price floor was created to encourage competition and affect consumers' willingness to pay because sometimes this new price may be higher than the original price. This causes a negative impact on a product that has a less than wanted perceived value. Many factors contribute to economic prosperity and certainly do help assure that information is analyzed and implemented into an economic and business plan.

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ECON 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: United States House Committee On Oversight And Government Reform, Laffer Curve

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