Read the following news article “Bali beach offers lessons in negative externalities.” and answer the questions.
1. Do you agree with the author’s point of view? Are the tourists responsible for paying for the negative externalities? Why not?
2. Provide examples of three ways the government could use and respond to this externality. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these solutions?
Bali beach offers lessons in negative externalities
Section: Business Edition: B – Main
I RECENTLY attended a conference in one of Bali’s big hotels. Luxuriously decorated, the hotel was a welcome escape from noise, heat and the constant spruiking outside. If you’ve been to Bali too, you know what I mean: “Hello? Transport?”
The contrast between hotel and street environments seemed vast. But economic ideas underlying our conference discussions were relevant outside. I’ll give you an example.
A friend who visited Bali last year said a beach chair should cost me 10,000 to 15,000 rupiah (90-$1.40) for the day. But despite my hardest bargaining, I couldn’t get a price below 20,000. This turned out to be unrelated to my bargaining skills.
Each section of beach is allocated to a local business person, who pays an annual licence fee to the Government for the right to operate. The licence stipulates the maximum number of beach chairs on the site. This year, the Government halved this number. So licence holders doubled the price.
Why would the Government limit chairs? Consider what would happen if they didn’t. Licence holders would cover every last centimetre of their section with chairs to get the most revenue possible for their licence investment. This would reduce the beach’s scenic value. It would also be harder for beach sellers to wander among the lounging tourists.
In economic parlance, we call these “negative externalities” – an increase in production results in uncompensated costs to others. Classic examples are pollution and traffic congestion.
Governments have many policy instruments to deal with negative externalities. For Bali beach chairs, the Government uses licensing with volume restrictions (quotas). In Australia, there are similar examples in fisheries industries. Other options include imposing tariffs or quotas on imports, putting tolls on roads, setting water prices or restrictions, introducing taxes (eg a carbon tax) and issuing tradable permits with a limit on total output (eg emission trading). The intent is the same – reduce negative externalities so that society as a whole is better off.
So who pays for all this? That’s a question for case-by-case analysis and usually results in the biggest political arguments. But in our simple Bali beach chair example, the answer is clear: tourists.
But a problem remains: “You want massage? Braiding? Manicure? Tattoo?” I’d like a tattoo on my head saying, “I’m paying a government-imposed premium for peace and quiet here – leave me alone!”
Dr Jennifer Harrison
Southern Cross
Business School
Southern Cross University