The city of Spillsville is worried that its municipal landfill is going to fill up. As a result, the city's sanitation engineer has proposed two solutions:
Solution 1: Require each household to reduce its garbage disposal by 100 pounds per month.
Solution 2: Impose a tax of $.05 per pound of garbage that will overall result in the same decline in garbage disposal as Solution 1.
Which of the two solutions would an economist prefer to have implemented? Explain.

Question

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The Answer of The city of Spillsville is worried that its municipal landfill is going to fill up. As a result, the city's sanitation engineer has proposed two solutions:
Solution 1: Require each household to reduce its garbage disposal by 100 pounds per month.
Solution 2: Impose a tax of $.05 per pound of garbage that will overall result in the same decline in garbage disposal as Solution 1.
Which of the two solutions would an economist prefer to have implemented? Explain.

The City of Spillsville Is Worried That Its Municipal Landfill