Misc

Marisela Gonzalez
DF 7
Optimal Pollution
From an economist's point of view, the optimal level of pollution is when marginal social cost (MSC)
equals marginal social benefit (MSB). This is a question about costs and benefits that affect third parties
but which is ignored by the two parties in the market transaction. In other words, optimal point of
pollution is when the marginal social costs to society equal the marginal social benefit to society.
Pollution Rights & Public Choice
Pollution rights are licenses that are issued to discharge given amounts of waste products. The
Government will sometimes trade or even sell pollution rights to the highest bidders.
Pollution rights are being used more often now a day as an environmental policy tool for pollution
control. However, these rights will minimize costs to firms rather than increase them.
Public Choice is the modern economic tool to study problems that are traditionally in the area of
political science. These studies consist of the behaviours of politicians and government officials and their
interactions in the social system.
Air Pollution
Air Pollution is when different types of toxins get into the atmosphere. This can occur in many different
ways. For example, Air Pollution can be caused by gas emissions coming from vehicles; it can also be
caused by factories and large industries who have power plants that produce these harmful gasses. Air
Pollution can be seen as gasses in the atmosphere, which are called smog. The government sees air as
an economic resource; in 1970 they passed a law that regulates the amount of pollution that individuals
are allowed to put in the atmosphere.