In: Economics
Suppose the market for cigarettes can be described as follows: Qs = P
Qd = 90-P
where Qs and Qd are, respectively, quantity supplied and quantity demanded (in appropriate units) and P denotes price (in dollars per carton of cigarettes). Suppose the government wants to discourage smoking. In an attempt to do so, it wants to tax the suppliers in a way to bring the price of a carton of cigarettes to $60. Using matrix algebra, find the per unit tax that will achieve this goal. (Do not use trial and error; if you do, you will receive little credit.) Discuss the incidence of the tax.