Question

Jose owns a dog whose barking annoys Jose's neighbor Amy. Suppose that the net benefit of owning the dog is worth $400 to Jose and that Amy bears a cost of $200 from the barking. Assuming Amy has the legal right to keep Jose from having a dog, a possible private solution to this problem is that:

Answer 1

Answer: Jose has to pay $600.

Explanation:

Jose has to pay $600 to Jane for her inconvenience.

In Accordance with Coase theorem, when two conflicting parties exist, one has to ‘buy the right’ from the other party.

Which In this scenario or case, Jane has the ‘right to prevent Jose from having a dog’.

Thus, Jose has to pay compensation to Jane so that he can keep his dog and at the same time Jane is also compensated for the inconvenience which may arise later.

Answer 2

Answer:

that Jose pays Amy $350 for her inconvenience, and keeps the dog

Explanation:

In this specific scenario, since Amy has every legal right to keep Jose from having the dog, then a possible private solution would be that Jose pays Amy $350 for her inconvenience, and keeps the dog. This would cover Amy's costs from the barking as well as provide an incentive to let Jose keep the dog, while at the same time Jose is spending less than what the net benefit of owning the dog is actually worth. Thus turning this into a beneficial arrangement for all parties.