2.) Limiting Market Power: Regulation and Anti-Trust
Predatory pricing threatens to keep competitors out of the market. It is a price that is so low that it will be profitable for the firm that adopts it only if a rival is driven out of the market. Debate why predatory pricing is an economic inefficiency in a perfectly competitive.
3.) Limiting Market Power: Regulation and Anti-Trust
Government regulates prices to prevent prices from being so high that they bring monopoly profits to the firm. Government regulates prices to set levels that are compensatory to enable firms to cover their costs. Many regulated industries are characterized by significant economies of large-scale production. Debate why economist favor setting price equal to marginal cost.
4.) Externalities, the Environment and Natural Resources
Our very existence makes environmental problems inevitable. Environmental problems are not new. First, explain what is different about the attention we now give to these problems relative to an earlier period of time. Next, debate how our behavior, institutions, and evolution contributed to environmental problems.
5.) Limiting Market Power: Regulation and Anti-Trust
First, explain the reasons why Amazon is not considered a monopoly? Next, explain how Amazon's scale is impacting discussions about its consolidation of the sector. Then, discuss in what ways do consumers benefit from such a market structure and explain how Amazon is able operate despite not be profitable. Lastly, debate whether or not government should use policies to prevent acquisition of monopoly power and the policies that the government can use to protect the public interest from monopolies and the reason(s) why such protection may be needed for consumers as Amazon continues to scale and consolidate the sector.
6.) Taxation, Distribution of Income and Resource Allocation
First, suppose the "War on Poverty" were starting anew and you were part of a presidential commission assigned the task of defining the poor. Next, describe whether or not you would choose an absolute concept or relative concept of poverty. Lastly, develop a concluding statement about the "optimal amount of inequality." In doing so, describe some of the practical problems in determining how much inequality really is optimal.