INSTRUCTOR’S SOLUTIONS MANUAL for
Economics Today: A Canadian Perspective,
Microeconomics Second Edition
Roger LeRoy Miller University of Texas—Arlington James Higginson Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Mushtaq Ahmad Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Igor Siljanoski St. Clair College
Copyright © 2026 Pearson Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario. This work is protected by Canadian copyright laws and is provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their courses and assessing student learning. Dissemination or sale of any part of this work (including on the internet) will destroy the integrity of the work and is not permitted. The copyright holder grants permission to instructors who have adopted Economics Today: A Canadian Perspective, Microeconomics, Second Edition, by Miller, Higginson, Ahmad, & Siljanoski, to post this material online only if the use of the website is restricted by access codes to students in the instructor’s class that is using the textbook and provided the reproduced material bears this copyright notice.
Contents Chapter 1: The Nature of Economics
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Chapter 2: Scarcity and the World of Trade-Offs
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Chapter 3: Demand and Supply
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Chapter 4: Extensions of Demand and Supply Analysis
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Chapter 5: Market Failures and the Public Sector
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Chapter 6: Demand and Supply Elasticity
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Chapter 7: Consumer Choice
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Chapter 8: The Firm: Cost and Output Determination
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Chapter 9: Perfect Competition
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Chapter 10: Monopoly
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Chapter 11: Monopolistic Competition
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Chapter 12: Oligopoly and Strategic Behaviour
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Chapter 13: The Labour Market
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Chapter 14: Income, Poverty, and Federal Income Support Programs
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Chapter 15: Environmental Economics
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Chapter 1
The Nature of Economics
Answers to Questions for Critical Analysis
AI: DECISION MAKING THROUGH DATA Why do you suppose that economists sometimes disagree about whether to classify as a microeconomic or macroeconomic endeavour the application of big data analytics and AI to massive volumes of information encompassing virtually all of a nation’s industries and interactions among those industries? Because big data analytics uses such massive volumes of information, which can encompass virtually all a nation’s industries and interactions among those industries, it seems as if the endeavour is a macroeconomic application (large scale). However, in many cases, this big data just represents a small part of the economy, which could be perceived as a microeconomic application (individual scale or sub-scale). THE INCENTIVES TO ATTEND POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION Sometimes adults tell young people to “get all the education you can get.” Does this mean that you should necessarily obtain an advanced degree? Under special circumstances, your answer to this Real Application question would be, yes. Those special circumstances would involve being able to obtain an advanced degree at zero cost to you and simultaneously not having any job opportunities as an alternative. Otherwise, you should look at how much more you would expect to earn per year if you complete an advanced degree program compared with what you could have earned working rather than spending more time in a university. Plus, you would have to consider the out-of-pocket costs of pursuing an advanced degree. ASSESSING WHETHER CHARITABLE DONATIONS REFLECT CARING FOR OTHERS OR FOR ONESELF How might the fact that the Canadian government allows larger tax deductions for some charitable donations than for others, how would this affect Canadian taxpayers’ incentives about how much to donate and to whom they direct their donations? Canadian taxpayers are likely to donate to charities that will both help others and which will make them better off (either through a tax deduction or a charitable gift). If the government allows larger tax deductions for some charitable donations over others, taxpayers are likely to donate more to the charities where they receive a larger benefit (tax deduction). GETTING DIRECTIONS In what way do small talk and gossip represent the use of simplifying assumptions? Gossip and small talk usually deal with other persons or situations of interest to the persons engaged in the conversation. Often the people who are talking choose to leave out details which they consider unimportant or information that do not support their position. The interpretation of the situation or the behaviour of the person being talked about will be affected by which details are omitted. Copyright © 2026 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-1
ISM for Miller et al. • Microeconomics, Second Edition
Economics in Your Life
GOVERNMENT PROVIDES INCENTIVE WITH THE ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM (ZEVIP). For Critical Thinking Overall, does it appear that the incentive provided to purchase a ZEV arises from the application of centralized command and control, the price system, or a mix of the two? Explain your reasoning. The government incentive provided to purchase a ZEV implies that our economy is mixed. The government incentive or consumer subsidy will decrease the ZEV price and make the purchase more attractive to consumers (command). The market will determine what kind and how many ZEVs to produce (the price system). Real Application Assume that ZEVs remain perceptibly more expensive to purchase than other vehicles. Do you think the existing incentives to purchase and operate a ZEV are sufficient to convince you to buy a ZEV? The importance of the incentives and their associated effect on purchase behaviour has been changing over time. Respondents are more likely to change their decision and more likely not to buy a vehicle at all as time passes and the technology moves away from early adopters. Incentives are becoming more important for vehicle adopters as the ZEV market entry progresses.
Issues & Applications
WHY EDUCATION AND FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE HELPS TO EXPLAIN WHY WOMEN ARE DELAYING MARRIAGE AND WHY FEWER WOMEN ARE MARRIED For Critical Thinking Why do you think that the prevalence of marriages by women to higher-income-earning partners has remained relatively steady in recent years? (Hint: On average, higher-income-earning partners have completed more years of education and have more stable employment prospects than those who earn less.) The argument states that women choose to marry out of self-interest and will marry a partner that will be able to provide financially for the household. If women’s interests and actions do not change, then the prevalence of marriages to higher-income-earning partners should remain relatively steady. Real Application Currently, a larger percentage of women are obtaining advanced degrees than men are. What are some of the real-world implications of this trend with respect to marriage? Women with advanced degrees typically do not seek out spouses who have little or no education past high school. One might predict that there will be a higher percentage of marriages among men and women who have advanced degrees.
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Chapter 1 The Nature of Economics
Answers to End-of-Chapter Questions
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Define economics. Explain briefly how the economic way of thinking—in terms of rational, self-interested people responding to incentives—relates to each of the following situations. a. A student deciding whether to purchase a textbook for a particular class b. Government officials seeking more funding for mass transit through higher taxes c. A municipality taxing hotel guests to obtain funding for a new sports stadium
Economics is the study of how individuals allocate limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants. a. Among the factors that a rational, self-interested student will consider are earned income, the price of the textbook, anticipation of how much the student is likely to study the textbook, and how much studying the book is likely to affect the student’s grade. b. A rational, self-interested government official will, for example, recognize that higher taxes will raise more funds for mass transit while making more voters, who have limited resources, willing to elect other officials. c. A municipality’s rational, self-interested government will, for instance, consider that higher hotel taxes will produce more funds if as many visitors continue staying at hotels, but that the higher taxes will also discourage some visitors from spending nights at hotels. 1-2.
Some people claim that the “economic way of thinking” does not apply to certain issues, and suggest health care as an example. Explain how economics does apply to issues related to health care by looking at an individual’s choices.
This issue involves choice and, therefore, can be approached using the economic way of thinking. In the case of health care, an individual typically has an unlimited desire for good health. The individual has a limited budget and limited time, however. When considering our choices we must allocate our budget across other desirable goods, such as housing and food, and must allocate our time across waiting in a physician’s office, work, leisure, and sleep. Hence, choices must be made in light of limited resources. 1-3.
Does the phrase “unlimited wants and limited resources” apply to both a low-income household and a middle-income household? Can the same phrase be applied to a very high-income household?
Because wants are unlimited, the phrase applies to very high-income households as well as lowand middle-income households. Consider, for instance, a household with a low income and unlimited wants at the beginning of the year. The household’s wants will still remain unlimited if it becomes a high-income household later in the year. 1-4.
In a single sentence, contrast microeconomics and macroeconomics. Next, categorize each of the following issues as a microeconomic issue, a macroeconomic issue, or not an economic issue. a. The national unemployment rate b. The decision of a worker to work overtime or not Copyright © 2026 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-3