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If a tax is imposed on a market with elastic demand and inelastic supply, it is impossible to determine how the burden of the tax will be shared. buyers will bear most of the burden of the tax. sellers will bear most of the burden of the tax. the burden of the tax will be shared equally between buyers and sellers.

Ask by Paul Sherman. in the United States
Mar 19,2025

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Answer

Sellers will bear most of the burden of the tax.

Solution

1. Recall the tax incidence theorem: the side of the market that is relatively inelastic (less responsive to price changes) bears a larger share of the tax burden. 2. In this problem, demand is elastic while supply is inelastic. This means that buyers can adjust their quantity demanded more easily, while sellers cannot easily change the quantity supplied when the price changes. 3. Since supply is inelastic, sellers bear most of the tax burden. Thus, the answer is: sellers will bear most of the burden of the tax.

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When a tax is imposed on a market with elastic demand and inelastic supply, buyers tend to bear most of the burden of the tax. This is because sellers, facing a rigid supply curve, are less able to reduce the quantity supplied in response to the tax. Since the demand is elastic, buyers are more sensitive to price changes and will decrease their quantity demanded significantly if prices rise too much, so sellers will likely raise prices, passing the tax burden onto buyers. In real-world scenarios, this tax incidence can lead to increased prices for consumers, while producers may not see much of a decline in the quantity sold due to their inelastic supply. In industries like agriculture, where producers cannot easily decrease production, this dynamic can significantly impact grocery prices.

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