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In the News

E-cigarettes - Government policy to combat demerit good or government failure example?

Jonny Clark

28th August 2015

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It struck me has I was reading this BBC report on the various UK government approaches to e-cigarettes, that the rise of the e-cig offers students a useful example on various fronts when preparing for lessons on market and government failure.

We've used good old-fashioned cigarettes as a staple example of a demerit good for.... well as long as the word demerit has been around as far as I can see! Perhaps it was the first noted demerit good? We economists love the fact that it allows us to bring in inelastic demand as well. What about e-cigarettes?

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Jonny Clark

Jon Clark has been teaching economics and business studies for over 25 years primarily in the Further Education sector. Before joining tutor2u, he was a senior manager at South Cheshire College in Crewe.

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