An externality is defined as: the effect of an activity undertaken outside a building rather than inside a building. an effect of market activity that impacts the opposite side of the market from the side whose decision caused the effect. a side-effect of an activity that affects bystanders whose interests are not taken into account. the impact of an activity on buyers and sellers in the market where the activity takes place.

The owners of backstreets italian restaurant are considering starting a delivery service forpizza and their other italian dishes in the small college town where they are located. theycan purchase a used delivery van and have it painted with their name and logo for $21,500.they can hire part-time drivers who will work in the evenings from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. for$8 per hour. the drivers are mostly college students who study at the restaurant when theyare not making deliveries. during the day, there are so few deliveries that the regular employeescan handle them. the owners estimate that the van will last 5 years (365 days per year)before it has to be replaced and that each delivery will cost about $1.35 in gas and othermaintenance costs (including tires, oil, scheduled service, they also estimate that onaverage each delivery order will cost $15 for direct labor and ingredients to prepare andpackage, and will generate $34 in revenue.a. how many delivery orders must backstreets make each month in order for the service to break even? b. the owners believe that if they have approximately the break-even number of deliveries during the week, they will at least double that number on fridays, saturdays, and sundays. if that’s the case, how much profit will they make, at a minimum, from their delivery service each month (4 weeks per month)?

The lee family is looking to buy a house in one of two suburban areas just outside of a major city, and air quality is a top priority for them. overall air quality is calculated by taking measures in 100 locations within each suburb and then calculating a measure of central tendency. in one suburb, there is a major bus station that creates very poor air quality at its location but has no impact in the surrounding parts of the suburb. in this situation, which measure of overall suburb air quality would be most useful?

You are chairman of the board of a successful technology firm. there is a nominal federal corporate tax rate of 35 percent, yet the effective tax rate of the typical corporation is about 12.6%. your firm has been clever with use of transfer pricing and keeping money abroad and has barely paid any taxes over the last 5 years; during this same time period, profits were $28 billion. one member of the board feels that it is un-american to use various accounting strategies in order to avoid paying taxes. others feel that these are legal loopholes and corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to minimize taxes. one board member quoted what the ceo of exxon once said: “i’m not a u.s. company and i don’t make decisions based on what’s good for the u.s.” what are the alternatives? what are your recommendations? why do you recommend this course of action?