Microeconomics

Table of Contents

1. Topic pack - Microeconomics - introduction
2. 1.1 Competitive Markets: Demand and Supply
3. 1.1 Competitive Markets: Demand and Supply - notes
4. 1.1 Competitive markets - questions
5. 1.1 Competitive markets - simulations and activities
6. 1.2 Elasticities
7. 1.2 Elasticities - notes
8. Section 1.2 Elasticities - questions
9. Section 1.2 Elasticities - simulations and activities
10. 1.3 Government intervention
11. 1.3 Government Intervention - notes
12. 1.3 Government intervention - questions
13. 1.3 Government intervention - simulations and activities
14. 1.4 Market failure
15. 1.4 Market failure - notes
16. Section 1.4 Market failure - questions
    1. Market failure - short answer
    2. Externalities - short answer
    3. Externalities & allocative efficiency - short answer
    4. Externalities - self-test questions
    5. Public goods - short answer
    6. Merit goods - short answer
    7. Demerit goods - short answer
    8. Types of goods - self-test questions
    9. Government responses - short answer
    10. Common access resources - activities
    11. Overexploitation - questions
    12. Sustainability - report
    13. Plastic bags - carrying the weight of the environment?
    14. Running cars on biofuels can be unethical
    15. Cement - the hidden polluter?
    16. African roses - a sign of change
    17. Congestion charging
    18. Putting a price on carbon
    19. Power bills to soar in 'green reforms'
    20. Beyond Kyoto
    21. Economic growth cannot continue
    22. The rush to find Jade
    23. Chopstick tax
    24. Taxing light bulbs - that's a bright idea
    25. Trading pig excrement
    26. Congestion pricing
    27. Packaging tax
    28. Airport expansion plans
17. Section 1.4 Market failure - simulations and activities
18. 1.5 Theory of the firm
19. 1.5 Theory of the firm - notes (HL only)
20. Section 1.5 Theory of the firm - questions
21. Section 1.5 Theory of the firm - simulations and activities
22. Print View

Plastic bags - carrying the weight of the environment?

Read the article Plastic bag bans around the world and then consider answers to the questions below. You can either read the article in the window below or you can follow the previous link to read the article in a separate window.

Question 1

Identify the external costs and external benefits that result from the use of single-use plastic bags.

Question 2

Using diagrams, as appropriate, show how the use of single-use plastic bags results in the socially optimal equilibrium differing from the market equilibrium.

Question 3

Analyse the effectiveness of banning the use of plastic bags as a policy to reduce the environmental impact of carrying goods from shops.

Question 4

Evaluate two policies, other than bans, that governments could use to reduce the environmental impact of the use of plastic bags.