Figure 8-1Refer to Figure 8-1.Suppose the government imposes a tax of P'–P'''. Total surplus before the tax is measured by the area

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The question asks about total surplus before the tax, as measured by the shaded areas in Figure 8-1. 
First, consider what total surplus represents: it is the sum of consumer surplus and producer surplus up to the market equilibrium quantity, i.e., the total net benefit to society from trades that occur at the pre-tax equilibrium. 
Now, looking at the labeled regions in the graph, the combination of areas I, J, K, L, M, and Y collectively covers the entire triangle/area bounded by the demand curve, the supply curve, and the pre-tax equilibrium quantity. These regions together account for all the surplus generated by trades that occur before any tax distortion, since they span from the price-quantity origin up to the intersection of supply and demand. 
Why this set, and not some other grouping? Because:
- Consumer surplus is the area under the demand curve above the price up to the equilibrium quantity, which includes portions like J, K, L, and Y depending on how the vertical and horizontal lines partition the space in the diagram.
- Producer surplus is the area above the supply curve and below the price up to the equilibrium quantity, which contributes the remaining pieces I, M, and possibly N as partitioned in the figure.
- The union of these relevant pieces I, J, K, L, M, and Y therefore represents the total surplus before any tax is imposed, aggregating both sides of the market.

In short, option a. I + J + K + L + M + Y corresponds to the full pre-tax social surplus depicted by the diagram, whereas excluding any of these pieces would omit part of the welfare gained from trade in the pre-tax equilibrium. The diagram’s labeling is consistent with summing all regions that lie between the demand and supply curves up to the equilibrium quantity to obtain total surplus.

Figure 8-1Refer to Figure 8-1.Suppose the government imposes a tax of P'–P'''. Total surplus before the tax is measured by the area

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