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Question

Consider the following diagram showing the market demand and supply curves for a commodity. If the government fixes the price P1 above the market clearing price P0, then the dead-weight loss is represented by :

The correct answer is
Area of triangle ABE + area of triangle EBC

To solve the problem, we need to understand the concept of deadweight loss in the context of price ceilings or floors. In the given diagram, the market clearing price, where the demand and supply curves intersect, is at \(P_0\). However, the government has fixed the price at \(P_1\), which is above this equilibrium price.

When the price is set above the equilibrium price, it leads to a surplus in the market since the quantity supplied exceeds the quantity demanded. The deadweight loss, in this case, is the loss in total welfare or efficiency from not trading the equilibrium quantity.

Look at the areas marked in the diagram:

  • Triangle ABE represents the loss in consumer surplus because consumers are purchasing less at a higher price.
  • Triangle EBC represents the loss in producer surplus because producers are selling less, even though they could have sold more at a lower price.

The deadweight loss is the combined loss in consumer and producer surplus due to the reduction in quantity traded from \(Q_0\) to a lower quantity (let’s say \(Q_1\)), which is represented by the area of triangle ABE plus the area of triangle EBC.

Therefore, the correct answer is the Area of triangle ABE + area of triangle EBC.

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Important Questions from Microeconomics

  1. Match the following List-I with List-II :
    LIST-ILIST-II
    1. Absolute Advantagea. Paul Rosenstein Rodan
    2. Theory of Big Pushb. Adam Smith
    3. Theory of low level Equilibrium trapc. Richard R. Nelson
    4. Balanced Growth Theoryd. Ragner Nurkse
    Choose the correct option :
  2. Managerial Economics is essentially __________ in the field of business management.
  3. Kumar used to eat 30 samosas in a month when the price of each samosa was ₹12. When the price of samosa increased to ₹15 per piece, he eats only 20 samosas a month. What is the price elasticity of demand for samosa by Kumar?
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