The government decides to regulate the labor market. Assume the demand for labor is inelastic,  while the supply of labor is elastic. a) On a graph, show the equilibrium wage and the employment level. Make sure you label  the axes and the curves. b) The government decides to introduce minimum wage: now it’s illegal to offer wage  below the minimum wage level. On a graph, show how the market will be affected if the  minimum wage is set to be above the equilibrium wage. What wage will be offered on the  market? What will happen to the employment level? What negative consequences will  this government intervention have? c) Forget about part (b). The government decides to introduce a tax on every worker. On a  new graph, without showing any shifts of the curves, show the new wage you’d observe the firms to pay and the wage you’d observe households to receive. Comment on the tax  incidence: who will bear most of the burden of the tax?

Economics (MindTap Course List)
13th Edition
ISBN:9781337617383
Author:Roger A. Arnold
Publisher:Roger A. Arnold
Chapter4: Prices: Free, Controlled, And Relative
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The government decides to regulate the labor market. Assume the demand for labor is inelastic, 
while the supply of labor is elastic.
a) On a graph, show the equilibrium wage and the employment level. Make sure you label 
the axes and the curves.
b) The government decides to introduce minimum wage: now it’s illegal to offer wage 
below the minimum wage level. On a graph, show how the market will be affected if the 
minimum wage is set to be above the equilibrium wage. What wage will be offered on the 
market? What will happen to the employment level? What negative consequences will 
this government intervention have?
c) Forget about part (b). The government decides to introduce a tax on every worker. On a 
new graph, without showing any shifts of the curves, show the new wage you’d observe
the firms to pay and the wage you’d observe households to receive. Comment on the tax 
incidence: who will bear most of the burden of the tax?


Problem 3: Consumer surplus and producer surplus
On the market for cherries, supply is inelastic, while demand is elastic. You know that suppliers 
are not ready to supply any cherries when the price is below $1.5 per pound.
a) On a graph, show the equilibrium price and the equilibrium quantity. Make sure you label 
the axes and the curves. Then, show the consumer surplus and the producer surplus.
b) Strawberries and cherries are substitutes. The price of strawberries increased. On a graph, 
show what will happen on the market for cherries. Show the change in the consumer 
surplus. Show the change in the producer surplus.
c) Forget about part (b). There are issues with the supply chain: transportation companies 
raise the fees they charge to deliver cherries from the farms to the supermarkets. On a 
graph, show what will happen on the market for cherries. Show the change in the 
consumer surplus. Show the change in the producer surplus

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