-Broomfield city council is deciding how many police officers the city needs. Broomfield's population is 10,000 people. The marginal cost of a police officer is $60,000 per year. The marginal benefit schedule of an average city resident from police protection is shown in the table above. Police protection is a public good. To support the efficient number of police officers, each resident of Broomfield will have to pay ________ per year in taxes.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The efficient number of police officers is determined where the marginal cost equals the marginal benefit. Given the marginal cost is $60,000 and the population is 10,000, each resident should pay $60,000 / 10,000 = $6 per officer. If the efficient number of officers is 3, then each resident pays 3 * $6 = $18.

-Broomfield City Council Is Deciding How Many Police Officers the City