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Suppose a price floor is set at ( $ 2 ). Calculate deadweight loss. Type your answer without a dollar sign. Round your answer to the first decimal place if necessary. ?

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Final answer:

The question relates to the concept of a price floor in economics, specifically within the labor market. It asks for the calculation of deadweight loss when a wage floor is set above equilibrium, causing an over-supply of labor and lost efficiency in the market. Exact calculation of deadweight loss requires additional information on demand and supply curves.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a price floor is imposed above the market equilibrium, such as setting a minimum wage at $12 when the equilibrium wage is $10, a deadweight loss occurs. This deadweight loss represents the social surplus that is lost due to inefficient market outcomes. Specifically, it is the total area of lost consumer and producer surplus resulting from transactions that do not occur because the price floor is higher than the market-clearing price.

In this scenario with a wage floor set at $12, there is an over-supply of labor: 1,600 workers are willing to work, but only 700 jobs are demanded at this higher wage. The deadweight loss can be calculated by finding the area of the triangle formed by the supply and demand curves and the wage floor line. However, more information such as the demand and supply equations or graphical representation would be necessary to calculate the precise deadweight loss value. Without this, an exact numerical value for the deadweight loss cannot be provided.

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