Question 1
Economists agree that travel by train, instead of by plane or car, should be promoted in Europe because of environmental issues. However, the growth of passenger rail travel in Spain has slowed down. During 2013, millions of passenger-kilometres* travelled on railways in Spain increased by 6.72 %, while in 2019 the annual increase only amounted to 1.36 %.
* passenger-kilometres measure the distance travelled by all passengers over one year
Figure 4 illustrates the monopoly-market structure for tickets on a train between Madrid and Barcelona in Spain. MC is marginal cost, AC is average cost, D is the demand for tickets and M R is marginal revenue.
Figure 4
Using a diagram with a straight-line downward-sloping demand curve and a marginal revenue curve, explain why the price elasticity of demand changes along the demand curve.
Figure 5 is a demand and supply diagram that illustrates the effect if the government of Spain provides a per-unit subsidy for train tickets. D is demand, is the original supply. is supply after the subsidy has been provided.
Figure 5