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1、ExternalitiesandCHAPTERNINETEENPublicGoodsInChapter13welookedbrieflyatafewproblemsthatmayinterferewiththeallocationalefficiencyofperfectlycompetitivemarkets.Herewewillexaminetwoofthoseproblems—externalitiesandpublicgoods—inmoredetail.Thisexaminationhastwopur-p
2、oses.First,wewishtoshowclearlywhytheexistenceofexternalitiesandpublicgoodsmaydistorttheallocationofresources.Insodoingitwillbepossibletoillustratesomeadditionalfeaturesofthetypeofinformationprovidedbycompetitivepricesandsomeofthecircumstancesthatmaydiminisht
3、heusefulnessofthatinformation.Oursecondrea-sonforlookingmorecloselyatexternalitiesandpublicgoodsistosuggestwaysinwhichtheallocationalproblemstheyposemightbemitigated.Wewillseethat,atleastinsomecases,theefficiencyofcompetitivemarketoutcomesmaybemorerobustthanm
4、ighthavebeenanticipated.DefiningExternalitiesExternalitiesoccurbecauseeconomicactorshaveeffectsonthirdpartiesthatarenotreflectedinmarkettransactions.Chemicalmakersspewingtoxicfumesontheirneigh-bors,jetplaneswakinguppeople,andmotoristslitteringthehighwayare,fro
5、maneco-nomicpointofview,allengaginginthesamesortofactivity:theyarehavingadirecteffectonthewell-beingofothersthatisoutsidemarketchannels.Suchactivitiesmightbecontrastedtothedirecteffectsofmarkets.WhenIchoosetopurchasealoafofbread,forexample,I(perhapsimpercept
6、ibly)increasethepriceofbreadgenerally,andthatmayaffectthewell-beingofotherbreadbuyers.Butsucheffects,becausetheyarereflectedinmarketprices,arenotexternalitiesanddonotaffectthemarket’sabilityto1allocateresourcesefficiently.Rather,theincreaseinthepriceofbreadtha
7、tresultsfrommyincreasedpurchaseisanaccuratereflectionofsocietalpreferences,andthepriceincreasehelpsensurethattherightmixofproductsisproduced.Thatisnotthecasefortoxicchemicaldischarges,jetnoise,orlitter.Inthesecases,marketprices(ofchemicals,airtravel,ordisposa
8、blecontainers)maynotaccuratelyreflectactualsocialcostsbecausetheymaytakenoaccountofthedamagebeingdonetothirdparties.Informationbeingconveyedbymarketpricesisfundamentallyinaccurate,leadingtoamisal
