Table 11-1
Consider the town of Anywhere with only three residents, Mary, Bill, and Tricia. The three residents are trying to determine how large, in acres, they should build the public park. The table below shows each resident's willingness to pay for each acre of the park.

-Refer to Table 11-1.Suppose the cost to build the park is $33 per acre and that the residents have agreed to split the cost of building the park equally.If the residents vote to determine the size of park to build,basing their decision solely on their own willingness to pay (and trying to maximize their own surplus),what is the largest park size for which the majority of residents would vote "yes?"
A) 0 acres
B) 1 acre
C) 2 acres
D) 3 acres

Question

Table 11-1
Consider the town of Anywhere with only three residents, Mary, Bill, and Tricia. The three residents are trying to determine how large, in acres, they should build the public park. The table below shows each resident's willingness to pay for each acre of the park.
 
-Refer to Table 11-1.Suppose the cost to build the park is $33 per acre and that the residents have agreed to split the cost of building the park equally.If the residents vote to determine the size of park to build,basing their decision solely on their own willingness to pay (and trying to maximize their own surplus),what is the largest park size for which the majority of residents would vote "yes?"
A) 0 acres 
B) 1 acre 
C) 2 acres 
D) 3 acres

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To find the largest park size for which the majority of residents would vote "yes," we need to determine the total willingness to pay for each park size and compare it to the total cost of building the park.

For 0 acres of park, the total willingness to pay is $0, so the residents would not vote "yes." 
For 1 acre of park, the total willingness to pay is $60, which is less than the total cost of $99, so the residents would not vote "yes." 
For 2 acres of park, the total willingness to pay is $120, which is equal to the total cost of $99, so the residents would vote "yes." 
For 3 acres of park, the total willingness to pay is $135, which is greater than the total cost of $99, but not all residents are willing to pay for 3 acres, so the vote would not be a majority.

Therefore, the largest park size for which the majority of residents would vote "yes" is 2 acres.

Table 11-1 Consider the Town of Anywhere with Only Three Residents, Mary